Subwoofer install write up
 

Im thinkin about doin a aftermarket subwoofer install write up. anybody interested?

Are you replacing the OEM one or adding a new one? I would be interested either way.

This is what i got.
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...79729287_n.jpg

But one person is good enough for me. ill work on it :)

Okay, Here we go.
This takes some knowledge of car audio to do.

First-Wire your power line to the battery
Attachment 51970

Next, your gonna want to wire your remote/accessory line. this is what tells the amp to turn on. I wired mine straight to the fuse box under the steering wheel.
Attachment 51971

tuck all your wires and make everything look clean...
Attachment 51972

now the hardest part is the work in the trunk. pull everything out so your looking at your spare tire
Attachment 51973

Remove the black styrofoam thing from the right of the tire and unscrew both of these on either side of the stock sub panel
Attachment 51974

your not gonna be able to get the stock sub panel completely off but you can lift it up from the bottom to reveal the sub and the wires we need to tap for the rca cables
Attachment 51975

to the left of the stock sub are some wires your gonna have to splice and test with any extra speaker you got laying around to find the right "setup" its fairly easy. just kinda awkward to do with the panel hanging over it. sorry i couldnt get a clear pic but once you see it, youll know what your doing
Attachment 51976

Now you need an adjustable line output converter. connect this to the wires you just used to splice into the stock sub.
Attachment 51977
Attachment 51978

now connect your rca cable to it. thats the hardest part. done. carefully put your baby back together :) i kept the converter down in the tire compartment (clean).
drill your ground cable into any metal in the tire compartment. Heres where i put mine.
Attachment 51979

Finish puting your trunk back together and leave your wires out like this. (for an extra clean job, tape em up with electrical tape)
Attachment 51980

And your set :) im gonna go ahead and assume that you know how to hook up the amp...
Attachment 51981

My car computer :)
Attachment 51982

Any and all feedback appreciated

The setups ive had in my rdx
Attachment 51968

Attachment 51969

that has to be the biggest hack job i have ever seen. whats up with the ground dude? are you really anchoring that with just the strand? and you didnt even clear off any paint.. and the remote wire... really? not to mention the weak ass crimps you have going to the line out. dude please delete these pictures as you have no idea what you are doing.

really ? you think thats a good job? hack job indeed- flea market hack job- c'mon- really ????

hahah ive seen better jobs come out of a flea market even.

Can a mod move or delete this thread as the instructions herein are not of proper installation techniques. The way this is put is actually a fire hazard and or potentialy damaging to equipment.
I don't get how you spend all this money on a car only to cheap out on anything you do to it.

And when I get around to redoing the system in my RDX, I will post up a proper how-to install. Anyone reading this thread should not follow these instructions.

And if the op comes to say that he has never had a problem, well he will sooner or later.

I dont understand how this is a hack job... all wires are hidden and everything works perfectly. im not putting a gun to your head telling you to do this. why are the people on this forum so negative? i found a way to install aftermarket subwoofers without doing any permanent mods to the car.

Being a hack has nothing to do on how you hide wires but more of how you are connecting them and the different gauges and not using the proper grounding and the way you did the remote. Anyone that follows this should have a gun put to their head and being permanent isn't the issue if you are not doing it right. Everything you did already can be removed from the car. And why ask for all feedback if you can't take the heat? Dude grow some balls and seriously take this shit down as you have no idea on how to install car audio properly

here is a nice video of a similar install to yours, as you can see, the ground is arcing. which im sure your ground will be doing. and hence why im saying its a fire hazard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucjvn...eature=related



fact of the matter that you have strands of wire hanging out all over the place on your ground and the inline converter, makes it a hack install. also if you are not even using any connectors on your power wire or your ground with it crimped/soldered properly, they are going to either fall out or come out just enough to start arcing on what ever its attached to or leaning up against

the ground at the very least should look like this

http://gallery.8thcivic.com/albums/audio/wi11.jpg

I have a custom enclosure in mine! i'll upload some pics soon.

Post it in the other forum not this thread

Can anyone tell me exactly what's behind the stock sub? I know it's suppose to be some sort of enclosure but I haven't been able to find any more details. From the looks of the paper woofer in the photo, I'm guessing it may be some sort of simple baffle. I'd like to drop in a shallow mount aftermarket sub but I don't want to have to spend a lot to make a custom enclosure. If it is just a simple baffle, maybe I could fiberglass it to make it more substantial. Any thoughts or other ideas? I want to retain the stock appearance and do not want any type of external box to house a sub. Thanks.

this is what's behind my 2011 Tech Subwoofer panel.

you need to remove a few trim pieces to pull that Subwoofer panel - simple stuff

Hey, thanks man - much appreciated. Did you end up replacing the stock sub?I've read that it's listed as an 8 inch but others say it's closer to 10.

- had the panel open to install Subwoofer Bars -

still using the stock Sub . it Thumps out the bass when its adjusted.

when it Blows I'll be checking your POLK install

^ What are 'subwoofer bars'?

there's a pic in my album

What do you mean by 'adjusted'? Is there a way to get more bass out of the stock sub?

I adjusted the stock Tech Sub by covering the exterior body panels behind
and around the Sub , the interior trim panel and completely wrapping the Sub enclosure front and back with a mixture of Dynamat , Xtreme DynaPad and 1/2" Dynaliner .

It gives the Sub much more pronounced punch and slam

How do you run the power cable through firewall? Please could you help me out?

I found an other tread that you can run your power cable though a gormet by the peddles.
What I like to know is if there is a better way to connect for the remote wire other than to the fuse...maybe some of the "non hack job" guys would know.Or you guys just know how to point out a hack job but don't know how to do a good job?
Maybe the "non hack job" guys can do a write up on how to do a pro install?

ITS A HACK JOB IN THE WAY THAT YOU CONECTED THINGS. if it were my install I would solder and shrink wrap the signal voltage, I would remove paint in order to ground the amp, the turn on lead would come from the factory turn on for the factory amp if possible if not an auto on line out converter, there would be a ring terminal on the positive hookup from the battery and the ground to the chassis, and given the electrical issues that this car is prone to I would have at least a 2 farad capacitor in those two setups.

I will take pics and do a proper write up when I get home from Afghanistan.

does anyone have a pic or know what to unplug under the center consol to turn off the active noise unit that sends the siginal to the factory sub. im hooking up a new amp & sub this week end

never mind I found the plug that goes to the active noise unit . just finished my install hopefully I don't get classified as a hack.https://acurazine.com/forums/images/icons/icon10.gif I would post some pics but every file I have is to large for this site sorry I don't have a 1 mp camera

pic of sub install & noise canceling unit under center consol

dmaxv8 - We'd love a description of your installation dude ;)

Oh ok, now I'm getting some Ideas! I wonder if I can fit a JL audio 8w7 in there.

Help
 

I can't figure out witch wires from the stock harnes is what I ran all wires all is good just no sound or it goes out I have a loc but not share if I wired it right

Thanks for the Post! Will be doing the same setup in mine. Obviously there isn't much after market audio equipment for the RDX. Good to know there is an easy way to add a sub as the stock speakers aren't bad at all.

OK, time to revive this thread, just for me. :yum:

A friend just bought a 2017 RDX. The factory sub is poor at best. We took the cargo bay apart and did some measurements. The driver is indeed 8". Mounting depth is 4-1/2", sorry, JL Audio W7 drivers need not apply. The "enclosure" is a really weirdly shaped plastic box with an itty-bitty port that I can't imagine does any good. Seems like lots of bass energy is lost to flexing of the plastc box.

Cudos to OA5599 for wrapping the "enclosure". Any report about if it did any good?

Can any one report about the best way to get a properly sized power wire through the fire wall?

We're pretty sure the factory amp is in the center console in front of the shifter. Any confirmation? Has anyone figured out the pin-out of the harnesses connected to the amp? Better yet, found a wiring diagram? Finally, does anyone know the power output of the factory amp?

You may want to post this in the 2nd gen RDX thread. This is for 2007 - 2012, and I imagine there may be differences between the sub in these cars vs 2nd gen.

Do you need to connect your LOC to the stock sub?

I was wondering about this too. Anyone upgrade their sub?

rockford fosgate has a 8 inch sub that is an easy swap. No mods needed. And it’s changeable from 2 ohm to 4 ohm. Factory is 2, but if u upgraded to an external amp, u can switch to 4 (tho you have to access the speaker again, which is a bit of a pain).