I-026: 2005 RL Subwoofer Replacement in Factory Rear Deck
12-26-2016, 12:00 PM
#1
2005 Acura RL
Thread Starter
I-026: 2005 RL Subwoofer Replacement in Factory Rear Deck
i wanted to improve on the bass quality in my RL but i am trying to stay away from building a subwoofer enclosure for the trunk so i am just replacing the factory sub with a aftermarket Pioneer 8" sub but keeping it in the stock location.
i have only seen a couple write ups on replacing the factory sub and i think they were on TL models so i figured i would do a write up with some pics in case any other 2nd gen RL owners were thinking of doing the same thing.
first we have to take out the rear seat and rear deck trim piece. there are two small clips on each side of the bottom part of the seat and you release those and push the seat back and pull it up to release it. then there are 4 10mm bolts that hold the rear section of the seat on and they are located at the very bottom of the seat, once you remove the 4 bolts you lift up on the bottom of the seat to unhook it from the top and then you can remove it. you will need to remove the side trim pieces first before removing the rear deck piece because they overlap it and you need to get them out of the way. all the trim pieces are held in with push clips so just use the correct tool to remove them and they come off pretty easy. the rear deck is also held in place by push clips and 4 of them are attached to the rear deck speakers so you need to be careful when removing the clips around those so that you dont damage the speakers. once you get all that stuff out of the way you will finally get to see the factory subwoofer.
here we can see the factory sub hiding under some more trim pieces that direct the sound from the sub through the opening in the reck deck trim piece. there are 4 10mm bolts that hold it in place and once you remove those 4 bolts you can remove the last trim piece and the subwoofer will pull out through the trunk, the bolts that hold the sub in place are part of the sub housing so the bolts will come out with the subwoofer when you pull it out. the black bar looking piece just behind the subwoofer is the auto shade that moves up and down, that piece will need to be removed also and has 6 10mm bolts that hold it into place.
here is a pic of the factory subwoofer from inside the trunk, the trim piece is held in place with push tabs and is easy to pull down out of the way. the light for the trunk is also attached to the trim piece and it has two little tabs on each side of the light that you push in and the light will pop out.
here is the factory subwoofer removed.
here is the factory sub next to the Pioneer TS-SW2002D2 8" shallow mount sub, the Pioneer is a dual 2ohm voice coil 150w rms sub and is designed to run in free air mode. their website claims its for use in factory subwoofer replacement applications and they even claim it can be powered by the factory amplifier. its a good quality speaker and should make a decent upgrade from the factory sub and give me just a little more punch.
and here is where i run into my first problem, the Pioneer sub is smaller then the factory sub. you can see around the outer edge of the sub the hole where the factory sub mounted and the pioneer sub can almost fit through the large opening for the factory sub.
my first thought was that the Pioneer sub may be a little smaller then a normal 8" sub so i grabbed another sub i had laying around which is a Skar Audio VD-8 which is one of there shallow mount subs. this sub is a more of a competition grade sub and is a little overkill for a factory sub replacement but it has the same problem....its too small for the factory opening. like the pioneer you can see around the edge of the subwoofer the holes where the factory sub mounts so i am going to have to make some sort of adapter plate.
so i grabbed a 5/8 piece of plywood i had and use a marker to trace the factory sub and then traced the trim ring for the pioneer sub and used a scroll saw to cut it out. the black outline holes are where the factory sub mounting holes would be.
and now the plywood can mount using the factory mounting holes and i can just use wood screws and screw into the wood from inside the trunk and that will secure the wood to the metal shelf. then i can attach the new subwoofer from the top and we are good to go.
and sadly this where progress has stopped for today because my wife had to go to work and i had to come home to watch our 3yr old. i still need to verify that the adapter plate and subwoofer clear the mechanical shade piece that mounts just behind it before i can start getting everything mounted. i am also going to use Noico sound deadening material to do the whole rear deck to eliminate any rattles and give a good seal between the inside of the cabin and the trunk and it will help keep the sound inside the cabin and reflect sound better.
so stay tuned for more pics of the install once i can get back to work on it.
i have only seen a couple write ups on replacing the factory sub and i think they were on TL models so i figured i would do a write up with some pics in case any other 2nd gen RL owners were thinking of doing the same thing.
first we have to take out the rear seat and rear deck trim piece. there are two small clips on each side of the bottom part of the seat and you release those and push the seat back and pull it up to release it. then there are 4 10mm bolts that hold the rear section of the seat on and they are located at the very bottom of the seat, once you remove the 4 bolts you lift up on the bottom of the seat to unhook it from the top and then you can remove it. you will need to remove the side trim pieces first before removing the rear deck piece because they overlap it and you need to get them out of the way. all the trim pieces are held in with push clips so just use the correct tool to remove them and they come off pretty easy. the rear deck is also held in place by push clips and 4 of them are attached to the rear deck speakers so you need to be careful when removing the clips around those so that you dont damage the speakers. once you get all that stuff out of the way you will finally get to see the factory subwoofer.
here we can see the factory sub hiding under some more trim pieces that direct the sound from the sub through the opening in the reck deck trim piece. there are 4 10mm bolts that hold it in place and once you remove those 4 bolts you can remove the last trim piece and the subwoofer will pull out through the trunk, the bolts that hold the sub in place are part of the sub housing so the bolts will come out with the subwoofer when you pull it out. the black bar looking piece just behind the subwoofer is the auto shade that moves up and down, that piece will need to be removed also and has 6 10mm bolts that hold it into place.
here is a pic of the factory subwoofer from inside the trunk, the trim piece is held in place with push tabs and is easy to pull down out of the way. the light for the trunk is also attached to the trim piece and it has two little tabs on each side of the light that you push in and the light will pop out.
here is the factory subwoofer removed.
here is the factory sub next to the Pioneer TS-SW2002D2 8" shallow mount sub, the Pioneer is a dual 2ohm voice coil 150w rms sub and is designed to run in free air mode. their website claims its for use in factory subwoofer replacement applications and they even claim it can be powered by the factory amplifier. its a good quality speaker and should make a decent upgrade from the factory sub and give me just a little more punch.
and here is where i run into my first problem, the Pioneer sub is smaller then the factory sub. you can see around the outer edge of the sub the hole where the factory sub mounted and the pioneer sub can almost fit through the large opening for the factory sub.
my first thought was that the Pioneer sub may be a little smaller then a normal 8" sub so i grabbed another sub i had laying around which is a Skar Audio VD-8 which is one of there shallow mount subs. this sub is a more of a competition grade sub and is a little overkill for a factory sub replacement but it has the same problem....its too small for the factory opening. like the pioneer you can see around the edge of the subwoofer the holes where the factory sub mounts so i am going to have to make some sort of adapter plate.
so i grabbed a 5/8 piece of plywood i had and use a marker to trace the factory sub and then traced the trim ring for the pioneer sub and used a scroll saw to cut it out. the black outline holes are where the factory sub mounting holes would be.
and now the plywood can mount using the factory mounting holes and i can just use wood screws and screw into the wood from inside the trunk and that will secure the wood to the metal shelf. then i can attach the new subwoofer from the top and we are good to go.
and sadly this where progress has stopped for today because my wife had to go to work and i had to come home to watch our 3yr old. i still need to verify that the adapter plate and subwoofer clear the mechanical shade piece that mounts just behind it before i can start getting everything mounted. i am also going to use Noico sound deadening material to do the whole rear deck to eliminate any rattles and give a good seal between the inside of the cabin and the trunk and it will help keep the sound inside the cabin and reflect sound better.
so stay tuned for more pics of the install once i can get back to work on it.
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projektvertx (12-27-2016)
12-26-2016, 01:58 PM
#2
Senior Moderator
Awesome! I don't think I have seen a DIY rear deck removal. Thanks for contributing. 
Hope the plywood spacer fits. Also, I won't be surprised if you don't get much more out of that speaker with the factory amp. You might need a small amp to drive it separately for a nice increase. Hopefully I'm wrong though. You should grab a little Dynamat and cover any exposed sheet metal. Rear deck rattles aren't unheard of around here even in stock RLs.
Rear seat removal pictures are half-way through the first post here: https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-rl-a...emoval-813630/
Picture of the rear deck without a rear window is here: https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-rl-a.../#post14920976
Hope the plywood spacer fits. Also, I won't be surprised if you don't get much more out of that speaker with the factory amp. You might need a small amp to drive it separately for a nice increase. Hopefully I'm wrong though. You should grab a little Dynamat and cover any exposed sheet metal. Rear deck rattles aren't unheard of around here even in stock RLs.
Rear seat removal pictures are half-way through the first post here: https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-rl-a...emoval-813630/
Picture of the rear deck without a rear window is here: https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-rl-a.../#post14920976
Last edited by oo7spy; 12-26-2016 at 02:04 PM.
12-26-2016, 02:10 PM
#3
Racer
I've been thinking of doing the same thing, but I stop knowing that the sub woofer really needs a box/surround in order to really sound better. I hope what you do will produce enough bass to sound better. If it does, I will do the same thing. I don't mind adding an amplifier as well, I just want a little more bass without putting a box in the trunk
12-26-2016, 08:35 PM
#4
2005 Acura RL
Thread Starter
i plan on running a aftermarket amp, its a older Pioneer 160w 2 channel amp that will be running bridged @ 4ohms and be putting out around 120w rms which should be a pretty good match with the Pioneer sub, i would agree that the factory amp with the aftermarket sub may produce maybe a little more sound but i doubt it would be much louder then the stock sub, but someone looking to replace a blown factory sub and not do anything else it would work pretty well as just a stock replacement. here is a small video of the factory amp running the pioneer sub that i took just to see if it could actually run it like pioneer claims and i was actually surprised at how well it sounded. keep in mind everything is just laying there loose so nothing is bolted down or sealed off.
i did do some test fitting with the adapter piece with the rear mechanical shade in place and i did have problems with it hitting the housing for the shade, but a little trimming here and there to the wood and i was able to get everything to fit. the adapter could probably be made with a little thinner piece of plywood but the 5/8 is what i had on hand laying around.
007spy: if you notice at the very end of my first post i mention that i plan on using sound deadening material to cover the whole rear deck like you mentioned.
only been able to work on it about a hour while my son was napping but i was able to get about half of it coated so far. the company that makes the stuff i am using is called Noico and it was suggested by another member as a cheaper alternative to Dynomat, i got 10 square feet of it from ebay for $22.
i did do some test fitting with the adapter piece with the rear mechanical shade in place and i did have problems with it hitting the housing for the shade, but a little trimming here and there to the wood and i was able to get everything to fit. the adapter could probably be made with a little thinner piece of plywood but the 5/8 is what i had on hand laying around.
007spy: if you notice at the very end of my first post i mention that i plan on using sound deadening material to cover the whole rear deck like you mentioned.
only been able to work on it about a hour while my son was napping but i was able to get about half of it coated so far. the company that makes the stuff i am using is called Noico and it was suggested by another member as a cheaper alternative to Dynomat, i got 10 square feet of it from ebay for $22.
12-27-2016, 12:19 AM
#5
2005 Acura RL
Thread Starter
got the rest of the rear deck coated with the sound deadening.
then i got everything pretty much reinstalled in the rear deck, the autoshade does NOT hit the sub or adapter but it sits very very close so i am going to out a couple layers of sound deadening between them so they actually are wedged apart.
right now i just have a couple of screws holding the sub down because i am not finished back here just yet. i just needed to get the car put back together enough to get it out of my buddies shop.
Sound Review with Pioneer sub and factory amp : Now that everything is back together with the sound deadening installed and the Pioneer sub mounted i can give a sound review of how the aftermarket sub performs and sounds with just being run by the factory amp. The sub sounds pretty decent with just the factory amp running it, i listen to a lot of Bass Mechanik and they play a lot of bass tones that go down to the 30-40hz range which is pretty low. with the stock sub you could only turn the volume on the stereo up to about 18 before you could hear it reaching past the limits of the stock sub and it would distort horribly. now i can turn it up to 26-28 and the sub is still keeping up with the lower bass tones and is not distorting like the factory sub did. Is there really any change in the loudness of the bass in the car......NO. it sounds a little cleaner and can hit lower bass tones without distorting but since its still using the same power source its not any louder then it was before and i wasnt really expecting it to be i was just curious how it would sound and wanted to give a review of what the system would sound like just replacing the subwoofer and nothing else. this would be good if you blew your factory sub and needed to replace it because the cost of the Pioneer is much cheaper then you can find even a used factory replacement. However this is not just a direct bolt in sub and does require a great deal of work to even get to the sub and then making the custom adapter plate in order for it to fit correctly. So if you looking for something to just replace the sub this speaker will work fine using the factory amp but its not going to be louder.
Now i am going to get to work on getting the amp wiring kit installed and install the aftermarket Pioneer amp so i can get the new sub some good power so i can see how it really sounds.
then i got everything pretty much reinstalled in the rear deck, the autoshade does NOT hit the sub or adapter but it sits very very close so i am going to out a couple layers of sound deadening between them so they actually are wedged apart.
right now i just have a couple of screws holding the sub down because i am not finished back here just yet. i just needed to get the car put back together enough to get it out of my buddies shop.
Sound Review with Pioneer sub and factory amp : Now that everything is back together with the sound deadening installed and the Pioneer sub mounted i can give a sound review of how the aftermarket sub performs and sounds with just being run by the factory amp. The sub sounds pretty decent with just the factory amp running it, i listen to a lot of Bass Mechanik and they play a lot of bass tones that go down to the 30-40hz range which is pretty low. with the stock sub you could only turn the volume on the stereo up to about 18 before you could hear it reaching past the limits of the stock sub and it would distort horribly. now i can turn it up to 26-28 and the sub is still keeping up with the lower bass tones and is not distorting like the factory sub did. Is there really any change in the loudness of the bass in the car......NO. it sounds a little cleaner and can hit lower bass tones without distorting but since its still using the same power source its not any louder then it was before and i wasnt really expecting it to be i was just curious how it would sound and wanted to give a review of what the system would sound like just replacing the subwoofer and nothing else. this would be good if you blew your factory sub and needed to replace it because the cost of the Pioneer is much cheaper then you can find even a used factory replacement. However this is not just a direct bolt in sub and does require a great deal of work to even get to the sub and then making the custom adapter plate in order for it to fit correctly. So if you looking for something to just replace the sub this speaker will work fine using the factory amp but its not going to be louder.
Now i am going to get to work on getting the amp wiring kit installed and install the aftermarket Pioneer amp so i can get the new sub some good power so i can see how it really sounds.
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projektvertx (12-27-2016)
12-27-2016, 08:37 AM
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This is awesome, nice work and great detail on the post, thanks!! I remember we talked about retrofitting a free air sub setup from an Avalon to my 3rd Gen Camry but after some research and talking to someone with a lot of knowledge on the matter, we concluded the amount of metal work involved by cutting the rear deck wasn't worth it. I always wondered how that would work on our 2G. I'm definitely curious to see an update once you have an aftermarket amp in 
12-27-2016, 12:31 PM
#7
2005 Acura RL
Thread Starter
projektvertx: thanks for the compliments, i think i actually read the post your talking about when i was researching here on the site if anyone had replaced the factory sub before in the stock location. i was able to find someone who had done one in a TL but they only had a couple pics but it was enough to give me the bug to give it a try myself. i have always been a stereo nut and i am typically a overkill kinda guy when it comes to stereos but to me the Acura being more of a luxury type car i wanted to do something with it that wasnt what i normally do.
i did actually get a chance to get my 4ga power wire run for the amp last night and was able to get the Pioneer amp i have hooked up to the new sub and......its sounded horrible.....lol. the amp is a older almost vintage amp and it just wasnt up for the task so i grabbed a Rockford Fosgate 2 channel 300w amp that we just took out of my sons car because he got a new amp for xmas. the Rockford amp is also a vintage amp but it still sounds amazing and was much better at running the new sub.
Sound Review with Pioneer sub and aftermarket Rockford Fosgate amp: With the aftermarket amp installed the sub sounds much louder and hits a lot harder.....almost too hard. Even with all the sound deadening material that i installed i am still getting some decent rattles coming from somewhere in the rear deck and i am pretty sure its coming from the rear auto vent shade and its the internal parts of it that are rattling so i am not sure i will be able to eliminate those rattles or not. it does seem to mostly only do it when i am listening to my super heavy bass music but when it hits those 30-40hz tones its a rattle fest. It does sound much better then it did with just the factory amp running the new sub and it sounds better and louder then what it was with the factory sub. I have always built boxes for my systems that i build so i am use to a more booming sounding setup and i think for me its just going to take a minute for me to get use to the different sound a free air sub produces. i did jam some Creed and some Rage Against the Machine on my way home from work and with the Rock music the sub hits hard and fast and i dont have all the rattles like i do with the heavy bass music. since i dont have the rear seat installed back in yet i think i am going to pull out the auto vent shade again and try and coat as much of it as i can with the sound deadening material to see if i can at all eliminate the rattles. all and all i am pretty pleased with how it sounds minus the few rattles i have to try and get rid of, its not near as loud as it would have been if i just built a box for the sub in the trunk but it adds a little more bass to the factory system and isnt overpowering and blends nicely with the rest of the factory system.
The other thing i still need to do is get my amp signal wired in before the factory amp because right now i am wired in with my line converter AFTER the factory amp and i am only wired in that way right now because it was the easiest thing to do late last night just to get everything working. i need to research and find a wiring diagram for the factory amp so i know which wires to tap into before the amp, i think i ran across a youtube video the day that showed someone wiring up a amp to a second gen RL and i think they showed where to hook in so i will have to take another look at the video. i think once i get hooked into the wiring before the amp i may get a little more clarity out of the amp and sub but it doesnt sound bad at all the way its hooked up now after the amp. but wiring in before the amp will help eliminate any distortion that may be coming from the factory amp.
if anyone happens to have or know where i can find info on which wires to hook into before the factory amp it would be of great help and save me a day of research trying to find the info
i will get another video of the sub playing so you can see how much more the sub is being pushed with aftermarket amp installed. And i will get some pics of the amp installed but as of right now i have no idea where i want to mount it yet, i would like to hide the amp somewhere but this older Rockford amp is rather large and would be hard to hide out of site. More then likely i am going to replace the amp with a newer Skar Audio micro amp and it will be much easier to tuck behind a panel and have it completely out of site. the whole point of replacing the factory sub was to have a completely stealth system so having a huge amp that can be seen in the trunk would defeat the purpose of the install.
here is a pic of the Rockford Fosgate amp i am using right now, like i mentioned we just removed it from my sons car and replaced it with a new one he got for xmas. as you can see in the pic his new Skar amp is much smaller then the Rockford, the Rockford is a 300w amp and the Skar amp is a 350w amp and is half the size. i will be picking up one of their 200w amps and they are even smaller so it would be very easy to hide.
i did actually get a chance to get my 4ga power wire run for the amp last night and was able to get the Pioneer amp i have hooked up to the new sub and......its sounded horrible.....lol. the amp is a older almost vintage amp and it just wasnt up for the task so i grabbed a Rockford Fosgate 2 channel 300w amp that we just took out of my sons car because he got a new amp for xmas. the Rockford amp is also a vintage amp but it still sounds amazing and was much better at running the new sub.
Sound Review with Pioneer sub and aftermarket Rockford Fosgate amp: With the aftermarket amp installed the sub sounds much louder and hits a lot harder.....almost too hard. Even with all the sound deadening material that i installed i am still getting some decent rattles coming from somewhere in the rear deck and i am pretty sure its coming from the rear auto vent shade and its the internal parts of it that are rattling so i am not sure i will be able to eliminate those rattles or not. it does seem to mostly only do it when i am listening to my super heavy bass music but when it hits those 30-40hz tones its a rattle fest. It does sound much better then it did with just the factory amp running the new sub and it sounds better and louder then what it was with the factory sub. I have always built boxes for my systems that i build so i am use to a more booming sounding setup and i think for me its just going to take a minute for me to get use to the different sound a free air sub produces. i did jam some Creed and some Rage Against the Machine on my way home from work and with the Rock music the sub hits hard and fast and i dont have all the rattles like i do with the heavy bass music. since i dont have the rear seat installed back in yet i think i am going to pull out the auto vent shade again and try and coat as much of it as i can with the sound deadening material to see if i can at all eliminate the rattles. all and all i am pretty pleased with how it sounds minus the few rattles i have to try and get rid of, its not near as loud as it would have been if i just built a box for the sub in the trunk but it adds a little more bass to the factory system and isnt overpowering and blends nicely with the rest of the factory system.
The other thing i still need to do is get my amp signal wired in before the factory amp because right now i am wired in with my line converter AFTER the factory amp and i am only wired in that way right now because it was the easiest thing to do late last night just to get everything working. i need to research and find a wiring diagram for the factory amp so i know which wires to tap into before the amp, i think i ran across a youtube video the day that showed someone wiring up a amp to a second gen RL and i think they showed where to hook in so i will have to take another look at the video. i think once i get hooked into the wiring before the amp i may get a little more clarity out of the amp and sub but it doesnt sound bad at all the way its hooked up now after the amp. but wiring in before the amp will help eliminate any distortion that may be coming from the factory amp.
if anyone happens to have or know where i can find info on which wires to hook into before the factory amp it would be of great help and save me a day of research trying to find the info
i will get another video of the sub playing so you can see how much more the sub is being pushed with aftermarket amp installed. And i will get some pics of the amp installed but as of right now i have no idea where i want to mount it yet, i would like to hide the amp somewhere but this older Rockford amp is rather large and would be hard to hide out of site. More then likely i am going to replace the amp with a newer Skar Audio micro amp and it will be much easier to tuck behind a panel and have it completely out of site. the whole point of replacing the factory sub was to have a completely stealth system so having a huge amp that can be seen in the trunk would defeat the purpose of the install.
here is a pic of the Rockford Fosgate amp i am using right now, like i mentioned we just removed it from my sons car and replaced it with a new one he got for xmas. as you can see in the pic his new Skar amp is much smaller then the Rockford, the Rockford is a 300w amp and the Skar amp is a 350w amp and is half the size. i will be picking up one of their 200w amps and they are even smaller so it would be very easy to hide.
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12-27-2016, 06:15 PM
#8
Senior Moderator
007spy: if you notice at the very end of my first post i mention that i plan on using sound deadening material to cover the whole rear deck like you mentioned.
only been able to work on it about a hour while my son was napping but i was able to get about half of it coated so far. the company that makes the stuff i am using is called Noico and it was suggested by another member as a cheaper alternative to Dynomat, i got 10 square feet of it from ebay for $22.
only been able to work on it about a hour while my son was napping but i was able to get about half of it coated so far. the company that makes the stuff i am using is called Noico and it was suggested by another member as a cheaper alternative to Dynomat, i got 10 square feet of it from ebay for $22.
Thanks for the brand of deadener you used. I used Dynamat as a lazy way of getting across CLD tiles without explaining what those are. I like threads where the OP knows a thing or two about what they're doing. Nice work!
How old's your son? The only audio mod I've done since my son was born in 2012 was fitting Sony 6" x 9" 3-way drivers into the 6" space of my Tundra front doors. My kids are finally to the age they can actually help washing the cars, so I'm finally back to doing that twice a year.
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projektvertx (12-27-2016)
12-28-2016, 12:37 AM
#9
2005 Acura RL
Thread Starter
my oldest son boy turned just turned 16 so he is driving his very first car and i just repainted it for him as one of his xmas presents. i have always had a nice stereo setup in every car i have had since he was born so he has been around car audio all his life but it wasnt until a couple of years ago that he gained real interest in it. now that he is of driving age he is turning into a bit of a gear head like his dad and its really nice to be able to spend father/son time with him working on his car.
i have just learned car stereo stuff over the years because i am poor and cheap....lol. there have been many hours spent doing reading and research on the internet to learn how to do as many things i can by myself so i dont have to pay someone to do it for me. this was my first time using sound deadening material and it was a trial and error learning experience, one thing i learned was do not buy a cheap roller tool because it will break on the first couple of pieces you lay down.
i didnt get a chance to do anything else with the car today but i may try and do some more sound deadening tonight while i am at work to the under neath side of the rear deck in case any of my rattles are coming from something under there. and i want to get all my wiring and stuff that runs along the deck tapped down so they cant move around at all. i do paint and bodywork for a living and i work for a company that buys and sells trucks and heavy equipment and i work a lot of nights when nobody else is there so i can pull my car in and work on it while i am doing my other work and stuff. i think everything may also sound a little better once i get the rear trim piece and rear seat installed back in the car so that the trunk actually gets sealed back off from the cabin of the car.
i have just learned car stereo stuff over the years because i am poor and cheap....lol. there have been many hours spent doing reading and research on the internet to learn how to do as many things i can by myself so i dont have to pay someone to do it for me. this was my first time using sound deadening material and it was a trial and error learning experience, one thing i learned was do not buy a cheap roller tool because it will break on the first couple of pieces you lay down.
i didnt get a chance to do anything else with the car today but i may try and do some more sound deadening tonight while i am at work to the under neath side of the rear deck in case any of my rattles are coming from something under there. and i want to get all my wiring and stuff that runs along the deck tapped down so they cant move around at all. i do paint and bodywork for a living and i work for a company that buys and sells trucks and heavy equipment and i work a lot of nights when nobody else is there so i can pull my car in and work on it while i am doing my other work and stuff. i think everything may also sound a little better once i get the rear trim piece and rear seat installed back in the car so that the trunk actually gets sealed back off from the cabin of the car.
12-28-2016, 10:29 AM
#10
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I definitely agree with Bond, I like an informed OP
Side question, I'm curious as to how the aftermarket sub interacted with the Active Noise Cancelling on the car? Do you have it disabled? If it is disabled, would it be possible to enable it briefly and report back if you hear the hum associated with aftermarket sub and amp setups? I don't expect ANC to cause a hum, but I'm curious
Side question, I'm curious as to how the aftermarket sub interacted with the Active Noise Cancelling on the car? Do you have it disabled? If it is disabled, would it be possible to enable it briefly and report back if you hear the hum associated with aftermarket sub and amp setups? I don't expect ANC to cause a hum, but I'm curious
12-28-2016, 12:13 PM
#11
2005 Acura RL
Thread Starter
this is the part where the OP becomes un-informed because i have no idea what the ANC is or what it does....lol. with that being said i have no idea how to turn it on or off, if by chance its in the stereo settings that appear on the navigation screen i wouldnt be able to help because my nav screen is just black. (go figure on a 05 RL) i have only owned my RL for a short time so i am not yet familiar with all the bells and whistles it has. The nav screen has been black since i got the car so i have never even seen the audio controls for the stereo, at tax time i plan on sending my nav unit to alpine to get it repaired.
Rattling Update: If you notice in the last pic i posted on the subwoofer installed in the acura you will see i only have a couple of screws holding the sub down, this was because the only screws i had on hand were just barely long enough to grab into the wood so i only used a couple of them. since i didnt have it secured down all the way around the sub when the subwoofer was moving it was lifting up a tiny bit in the back and was causing a big rattle. once i got it screwed down all the way around that took care of the biggest rattle i had......BUT now that the sub is really secured down its creating other rattles now. after doing more listening i think i tracked down the second biggest rattle and its coming from the navigation unit in the trunk, if i grab ahold of it with my hand i can stop most of the rattle coming from it. like i mentioned my nav unit doesnt work so for now i think i am going to go ahead and remove it so i can eliminate it as a rattle for now so i can track down where other rattles are coming from.
Rattling Update: If you notice in the last pic i posted on the subwoofer installed in the acura you will see i only have a couple of screws holding the sub down, this was because the only screws i had on hand were just barely long enough to grab into the wood so i only used a couple of them. since i didnt have it secured down all the way around the sub when the subwoofer was moving it was lifting up a tiny bit in the back and was causing a big rattle. once i got it screwed down all the way around that took care of the biggest rattle i had......BUT now that the sub is really secured down its creating other rattles now. after doing more listening i think i tracked down the second biggest rattle and its coming from the navigation unit in the trunk, if i grab ahold of it with my hand i can stop most of the rattle coming from it. like i mentioned my nav unit doesnt work so for now i think i am going to go ahead and remove it so i can eliminate it as a rattle for now so i can track down where other rattles are coming from.
12-28-2016, 05:39 PM
#12
Senior Moderator
projekt, I believe the issue with after-market subs is adding additional subs to the stock system. The extra speakers in the feedback loop could be throwing the system off whereas if you only have one speaker in the loop, it naturally accounts for itself as designed. I don't know for sure, but it seems plausible.
cyberquest, I don't recommend moving your signal input before the amp. All other RL systems I've seen tap after the Bose amp and they retain full functionality from the head unit.
cyberquest, I don't recommend moving your signal input before the amp. All other RL systems I've seen tap after the Bose amp and they retain full functionality from the head unit.
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projektvertx (12-29-2016)
01-02-2017, 12:22 AM
#14
2005 Acura RL
Thread Starter
after trying a few different things to eliminate rattles in the rear deck i have given up on trying to leave it in the factory sub location. when the bass hits a certain tone it just rattles everything in the rear deck so i decided to put the factory sub back in the car and removed the Pioneer sub. i listened to the factory sub again by itself and i dont think it was all wasted effort because the factory sub sounds much louder now and i would assume its because of the sound deadening material.
i have a ported box laying around that i built for another car and i installed the Pioneer sub in the ported box and put it in the trunk and it sounds much better and NO rattles. if i had it to do all over again i wouldnt have messed with the factory sub at all and just started with building a nice box for the trunk. and if i would have went that route from the start i would have picked a different aftermarket sub. i only went with the Pioneer shallow mount sub because i had the idea from the start to put it in the rear deck.
so my overall review is NOT to mess with trying to upgrade to a aftermarket sub and amp using the stock subwoofer location. just do yourself a favor and buy a nice pre-made box or build one yourself, you will have a lot more options as far as subwoofer size and brand with just using a box in the trunk. i am going to custom make one for mine and i will get some updated photos once i get it completed.
i have a ported box laying around that i built for another car and i installed the Pioneer sub in the ported box and put it in the trunk and it sounds much better and NO rattles. if i had it to do all over again i wouldnt have messed with the factory sub at all and just started with building a nice box for the trunk. and if i would have went that route from the start i would have picked a different aftermarket sub. i only went with the Pioneer shallow mount sub because i had the idea from the start to put it in the rear deck.
so my overall review is NOT to mess with trying to upgrade to a aftermarket sub and amp using the stock subwoofer location. just do yourself a favor and buy a nice pre-made box or build one yourself, you will have a lot more options as far as subwoofer size and brand with just using a box in the trunk. i am going to custom make one for mine and i will get some updated photos once i get it completed.
The following 2 users liked this post by cyberquest:
oo7spy (01-04-2017),
projektvertx (01-02-2017)
01-04-2017, 06:57 AM
#15
2005 Acura RL
Thread Starter
i do have a question about the factory stereo in the RL. i want to disconnect the battery and i know the stereo will lock when i do it.
my Navigation screen does NOT work so i cant see any of the radio functions that the nav screen displays. i have the codes for both the radio and the navigation i just want to make sure i can enter in the stereo code to unlock the stereo without having to use the navigation screen.
my Navigation screen does NOT work so i cant see any of the radio functions that the nav screen displays. i have the codes for both the radio and the navigation i just want to make sure i can enter in the stereo code to unlock the stereo without having to use the navigation screen.
01-04-2017, 04:31 PM
#18
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tongr888
2G RL (2005-2012)
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01-08-2017 04:00 PM