Filling out the low-end
 

When I got my car I wasn't expecting much from the head unit and for frequencies above 200Hz the stock unit isn't bad. It isn't reference quality but then again, the car isn't dampened enough to warrant such a high end sound system. It does, however, need some bass. So, I thought about building an enclosure but it would be heavy and I would want to be able to remove it. So, I went with a solution that I put into my wife's tC; a tube sub. I almost felt guilty buying something pre-made because I have always fabricated my own enclosures based on the Q and Vas of the speakers (many many years ago I used to own a car stereo shop).

Anyway, the sub that I put in her car was the [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Kenwood-P-W120TB-12-Inch-Tube-Subwoofer/dp/B004NMLB68/ref=pd_cp_e_1"]Kenwood P-W120TB[/ame] which is the exact model that I put in my wife's car with a new Clarion head unit for her birthday last year. For $170, it hits like a truck and will shake the entire car. I also wanted to order an [ame="http://www.amazon.com/KnuKonceptz-KCA-Complete-Gauge-Installation/dp/B005IY3BI6/ref=pd_sim_e_4"]8-gauge wiring kit[/ame] but accidentally ordered the [ame="http://www.amazon.com/KnuKonceptz-KCA-Complete-Gauge-Installation/dp/B0050I6KII/ref=pd_sim_e_2"]4-gauge[/ame] instead (which turned out to be a good thing as you will see).

So, once it was delivered, it was time to get to the task of removing a lot of things inside to have room to work. And, once it was all out, I had to decide where to mount the amp. My first thought was to mount it under the floor of the trunk (or boot to my mates across the pond) on the right-hand side of the spare.
http://i.imgur.com/oZ3QYsC.jpg

However, this doesn't give the amp much cooling and I didn't want to have any weight on it. So, I decided to mount it inverted under the rear deck directly under the third brake light.

Once that was decided, I had to figure out the toughest part of the install... how to get the power from the battery, through the firewall, and into the cabin. After looking for over an hour for a suitable spot I followed the resonator tube and pulled it out from the fire wall. Holy crap! The plastic fitting that connects the rubber tube to the firewall is the perfect diameter to fit a 4-gauge power cable!!! Unfortunately, at the 45 degree bend inside the plastic fitting is a molded cross in the dead center at the bend with some porous foam to help trap particulate from entering the cabin. A quick trim with the saw to cut the fitting in half beyond the cross and some clean up of the edges and we have a perfect plastic grommet. (this is the left over not the one that I used)
http://i.imgur.com/XGUM18v.jpg

Now that I have an in, it is time to run the cables.
http://i.imgur.com/QHznjU1.jpg

And on to the interior.
http://i.imgur.com/hrrg60c.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/G4YAH1t.jpg

Once the cables were run I had to figure out how to attach the straps that hold the sub in place. I decided to go with a trick that I used on my wife's car and run the nylon straps though the child seat anchors under the back seats.
http://i.imgur.com/4zs0TUW.jpg

I made two cuts in the carpeting with a razor, just big enough to feed the nylon straps through.
http://i.imgur.com/p5SYj30.jpg

Using a spring loaded center punch, I marked the spots under the rear deck and drilled pilot holes for the amp mounting screws, put the amp in place, and connected the wires.
http://i.imgur.com/myPyphE.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/pz3QnqV.jpg

Notice the ridiculously overkill power and ground wire (didn't care to add a distribution block just for a single amp).
http://i.imgur.com/9PGbQeB.jpg

Before putting everything back in, I turned on the stereo to make sure it all worked. Nothing was happening. I am pretty certain with my wiring abilities since my multimeter was giving me good readings throughout the install. Then it hit me. You have to turn on Subwoofer control from the head unit to send signals through the pre-out. With the head unit powered off, press the large knob to access the menu and go the the Sub-W section and turn it on.

HOLY @#$%! I guess I should have turned the volume down before doing that. I almost crapped myself when the stereo turned on. Needless to say, it worked. Now, to button everything back up. I gotta say, the carpeting on the speaker is a really close match for the trunk carpeting.
http://i.imgur.com/O1viE3H.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/RrwKoRJ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/lwWckJ8.jpg

And one of the things that I like most is how the carpeting matches the trunk, the white lettering matches the paint, and the red triangle above the "W" matches the light between the reverse lights. As Bob Ross would says, "Happy accidents."
http://i.imgur.com/5jcez0i.jpg

And, with a quick snap of the two straps and a release of the speaker wire, the whole thing just rolls back and lifts out of the trunk with no fuss so that I don't have the extra 15 pounds at the track. I timed myself and it took less than 10 seconds to get it out of the car and less than a minute to put it back (mostly just lining up the Kenwood logo :p)
http://i.imgur.com/JegGSki.jpg

Now the sound in the car is phenomenal. Unfortunately, the third brake light was rattling against the back window to I just pulled it out and put some high density door insulation foam tape around where it meets the window and it shut up toot-sweet. And, one that I haven't been able to nail down yet, the speaker exacerbates the rattle from the right rear. But a little flick of the volume knob makes that go away ;)

So, yeah, for $200 including shipping, I am a very happy bass head.

very helpful. Thank you

Awesome! I may have to pick this up too

You won't regret it. The sound is amazing. However, I think I heard people saying that the Bespoke head unit doesn't have the subwoofer pre-outs. Is that correct? It would be disappointing if that were the case. However, I am using the stock head unit which does so, um, yeah...

Perfect, cause I have the stock HU too haha. Will be ordering next week or so :party0030:

Actually literally the first mod I do to all my car's tends to revolve around the factory stereo. In every case I've had to install a sub in the boot and upgrage the 6x9's on the rear parcel shelf.

So having done this, and given your audio back ground, would you say the existing head unit and factory speakers are decent / not really in need of upgrading? Would you say the sub enclosure is enough?

What I did was to set the bass to 0 for the head unit so that I am not trying to send an abundance of low frequencies to the speakers in the doors, rear panels, or dash. Then I adjust the Sub-W to get the rest of the bass that I need. I have Treble turned up to 2 to balance the subwoofer (since humans are more sensitive to mid-range tones the low and highs are typically what needs to be boosted). As for the other settings, I tend to run SSP (Scion Sound Processing) on Feel because it accentuates the mids and highs. Because I listen to my iPod almost exclusively, and I rip them at high data rates (usually 240kHz to 320 kHz) I set ASR (Automatic Sound Retrieval) to low.

As I was saying before, because this isn't the quietest car the factory speakers work just fine for producing a clear note without any noticeable distortion. I don't have a spectrum analyzer anymore but through a selection of songs that I am familiar with I can tell that the full range is represented well and the front staging is actually rather nice.

Since I am moving to California in three weeks my camcorder is already on a moving truck and is on its way. However, I will pull out my GoPro and see if I can get some semblance of sound reproduction to show you what it is like.

I agree with you and that is usually my first upgrade as well. I think that you will find that as long as you aren't competing in IASCA or similar audio competitions that the factory speaker are quite sufficient. The sub alone adds so much life to the sound system.

Awesome idea, think I just might order the same thing. Though I think the 8ga install kit would probably work fine, right?

So the stock wiring isn't really messed with at all, just run the RCA's to the back of the HU, and you're pretty much done?

I am so tempted...this is much cheaper than buying an enclosure+sub+amp....ugh. I thought I knew what I wanted, now I don't. :'[ Thanks, Obama....

Bespoke has RCA outputs for sub, F and R:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...-08-34_556.jpg

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12554

8gauge would be more than enough to power this setup (That is what I used in my wife's car). I just noted that I ordered the 4ga by mistake but it filled the fitting in the firewall perfectly. If you are going the same route through the firewall, you would need a filler to seal the gap so water wouldn't get through if you drove through a deep puddle.

Well, all the better! External 4-channel amp plus a sub amp. Leaves room for some sound upgrades.:D

Just curious…would you ever consider doing an install for a fellow member? I have no experience what so ever with this and it is hard for me to trust someone messing with my car. After reading this I can tell you know what you're doing! Haha and it was nice meeting you the other day at the meet (at smoke eaters).

I finally heard this setup in person, and I don't believe I can truly impress upon a reader how massive the difference is with Buzz's speaker without swearing, so let me apologize in advance.

Holy fuckin' shit, that thing is fuckin' amazing! The difference is downright staggering. Had I to guess, as a layman, I'd expect he'd put in several thousand to a dedicated professional to make his car sound that awesome. Seriously it's wood inducing. For less than 2 Franklin's he literally revolutionized the sound out of the stock system. Fuckin' brilliant.