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Im upgrading the factory subwoofer but keeping the OEM head unit I plan on tapping into the sub wires in the OEM amp and connecting them to an L.O.C and an aftermarket amp i only need to buy the L.O.C now and i was wondering if anyone had any recommendations. Also i was wondering if anyone has the wiring diagram they could send me, this will be my first audio upgrade on a car so any tips and advice would be much appreciated.
The set up im going with is:
JL audio 8w7ae-3 (Subwoofer)
Alpine MRP-M500 (Amplifier)
Audiocontrol LC2i (line output converter/ L.O.C)
Custom built subwoofer enclosure
I'm installing next week and I will post pictures of factory locations (amp, factory sub, ground points, installation locations, wiring, and the wiring diagrams). My instagram will have before and after videos but don't expect it to sound like how it does in person.
Everything is installed but the subwoofer. i have all the wiring done and tons of photos, i will post when i get the chance if anyone has any questions about the install feel free to ask.
Aftermarket amp and L.O.C location with all the wiring hooked up. 4 gauge power wire neatly hidden. Power wire is connected to a circuit breaker More power cable management photos, this leads into the car now. The hole that was drilled to get the power wire into the car with an improvised rubber grommet. Power wire and hole from the interior of the car (sealed it with silicone later on).
If anyone has any questions feel free to ask i have over 100 photos of the install so i'll do my best to answer and provide a picture if i can. Once im done installing the subwoofer and putting the trunk back together I'll put a photo of the final product up.
Wow nice job! Do you have plans for a head unit? If so what are you thinking?
No im keeping the OEM headunit it has all the features that an aftermarket one would have and it keeps the car looking good i personally hate seeing aftermarket headunits unless they are absolutely necessary plus i think that it has more than enough bass without an aftermarket headunit and doing an integration on the 4G TL is very easy the biggest problem is getting the damn thing apart.
Have you considered making a custom fiberglass enclosure to better integrate with the factory trunk? I want to put a 10 in but I don't want to lose trunk space... Thinking about either a custom wood box or fiberglass that fits in the very back or one of the sides
You sure you have a full range signal? And FYI, our head units have active EQ, so I would plan on installing an aftermarket EQ with separate volume in the near future. And might as well dynamat while you're in there!
I messed with different box designs and ended up going with a trapezoidal shaped enclosure with sub facing the rear. The sub I chose (single 10") has relatively low volume requirement (0.53 cu ft), so it doesn't take up too much space. If I were you, I'd go with a slightly wider enclosure and mount the sub facing the rear.
Have you considered making a custom fiberglass enclosure to better integrate with the factory trunk? I want to put a 10 in but I don't want to lose trunk space... Thinking about either a custom wood box or fiberglass that fits in the very back or one of the sides
I thought about doing that but it would cost too much money since i wouldn't do it myself. It is possible but it cost alot more, you could also try to make a box in the spare tire area which what was my original plan. I decided to see how much this box gets in the way before i spend more money. Most likely before i do that im going to build a box that fits right into the rear of the trunk where the raised ledge is that is the correct specs for my sub which luckily fits right in that area. I'll post a picture of the area if you don't knkw where im talking about.
You sure you have a full range signal? And FYI, our head units have active EQ, so I would plan on installing an aftermarket EQ with separate volume in the near future. And might as well dynamat while you're in there!
I messed with different box designs and ended up going with a trapezoidal shaped enclosure with sub facing the rear. The sub I chose (single 10") has relatively low volume requirement (0.53 cu ft), so it doesn't take up too much space. If I were you, I'd go with a slightly wider enclosure and mount the sub facing the rear.
I'm only using the bass output on my L.O.C for now, i set it up for full range just incase i want to upgrade more in the future so i can avoid re-wiring everything but right now the factory amp is powering the speakers and the subwoofer is powered by the aftermarket amp. The only problem with this set up is that i've lost the sub controls in the OEM headunit but it doesn't matter to me because I installed a bass knob. Could you explain what you mean by active EQ and why i would need an aftermarket EQ with a separate volume personally if it got any louder i might go deaf. At full volume its clear and loud with bass you can feel in your chest. It's enough for my gf to get mad at me for playing music in the driveway because she can feel the bass inside the house with the door closed.
Last edited by Unknownerror0010011; 07-11-2017 at 12:15 AM.
Im not sure if anyone has solved issues with trunk rattle but I have reduced the amount of trunk rattle i have by lowering the metal piece the trunk latch latches onto. There are two 10mm bolts that hold it in place you losen those and push the metal piece as far down it will go while still allowing the bolts in. Here is the video that i found teaching me this trick https://youtu.be/v09IQGVXKGg unfortunately for my car it did not reduce the trunk rattle as much as i would like but it did reduce it. Still it is a good cheap option to do for free. To further solve the trunk rattle without spending hundreds of dollars on dynamat i bought a twin sized foam mattress off kijiji for $10. I then removed the trunk lid carpet and began to cut and stuff the mattress into all the holes of the trunk lid trying my best to fill the gaps that i can't see. The reason i used a foam mattress and tightly compacted it was so the vibrations would be absorbed and reduce the noise. It does work BUT there is trunk rattle with very bassy songs but for $10 I am happy with it.
Hey man! Thanks so much these pics are really helpful.
Do you know how to convert from stock amp to the new amp? Like I don't necessarly need pictures, just a bit of text would be good. I have the wiring diagram for the Tech ELS system model (I have the diagram for in/outs from the stock amp). I'm wondering how you wired the setup. Do you bypass the stock amp? Did you get a harness for the Radio output? I have a harness for the amp output, but not for the input. (ie I have a harness which maps the stock speaker harness at the amp to individual wires so I can connect those to the new amp, but I don't have anything for pre-amp wires from the head unit. )
I have already replaced the front speakers with Infinity 6030cs's and I'm looking to add the new tweeters alongside the existing ones, and replacing the rear deck. I'm pretty happy with the stock sub so I don't want to waste my trunk space since I use it all the time.
Thanks man! everything so far has been super helpful.
Hey man! Thanks so much these pics are really helpful.
Do you know how to convert from stock amp to the new amp? Like I don't necessarly need pictures, just a bit of text would be good. I have the wiring diagram for the Tech ELS system model (I have the diagram for in/outs from the stock amp). I'm wondering how you wired the setup. Do you bypass the stock amp? Did you get a harness for the Radio output? I have a harness for the amp output, but not for the input. (ie I have a harness which maps the stock speaker harness at the amp to individual wires so I can connect those to the new amp, but I don't have anything for pre-amp wires from the head unit. )
I have already replaced the front speakers with Infinity 6030cs's and I'm looking to add the new tweeters alongside the existing ones, and replacing the rear deck. I'm pretty happy with the stock sub so I don't want to waste my trunk space since I use it all the time.
Thanks man! everything so far has been super helpful.
I used the rear speakers to get my signal for the subwoofer, everything but the subwoofer is powered by the factory amp. I don't want to give you incorrect information because i did not touch the factory amp at all, and im not an expert by no means in car audio. I can't guarentee that what i say will work, but from what your telling me you want to keep the OEM subwoofer but have your aftermarket speakers powered by an aftermarket amp. If you also wanted to power your OEM subwoofer with an aftermarket amp i wouldnt recommend it because the subwoofer is very cheaply made, and will most likely blow as soon as you turn the volume up. That being said what i would do is tap into the speaker channels from the factory amp wire them into the inputs for your aftermarket amp, and use that to provide a signal to your speakers. You would probably have to run new wires for your speakers or you could try using the existing output wiring cut it add additional wiring to work with and connect it to your aftermarket amp outputs. I would leave the OEM amp powering the OEM subwoofer and just have the aftermarket amp for the speakers. Again your going to have to take this with a grain of salt it might be better to ask a professional installer or just keep researching on the internet for a similar situation whether it's a Acura or BMW any information with a similar situation should be helpful for you. Once your done your install if you made a thread for it or take any pictures feel free to post the link or couple photos or just an explanation on how you did it on this thread to help anyone else out who is interested in upgrading there audio system in their TL. If you do decide to add a subwoofer i definately recommend the JL audio 8w7 you can build a box to spec or buy one off ebay (where im getting mine) that fits right into ledge (with the carpet panels installed) where my subwoofer is sitting but does not stick out nearly as far i will be swapping enclosures in the summer and will post pictures for anyone who is interested. Good luck with your build and keep me updated on what you do to get it working! Im interested in your build now lol.
Hey man! Thanks so much these pics are really helpful.
Do you know how to convert from stock amp to the new amp? Like I don't necessarly need pictures, just a bit of text would be good. I have the wiring diagram for the Tech ELS system model (I have the diagram for in/outs from the stock amp). I'm wondering how you wired the setup. Do you bypass the stock amp? Did you get a harness for the Radio output? I have a harness for the amp output, but not for the input. (ie I have a harness which maps the stock speaker harness at the amp to individual wires so I can connect those to the new amp, but I don't have anything for pre-amp wires from the head unit. )
I have already replaced the front speakers with Infinity 6030cs's and I'm looking to add the new tweeters alongside the existing ones, and replacing the rear deck. I'm pretty happy with the stock sub so I don't want to waste my trunk space since I use it all the time.
Thanks man! everything so far has been super helpful.
Could you provide any info or a link to where you bout the amp output harness?
Thanks again for posting all the pics! Can I get away with removing just the bottom part of the rear seat when I am running power wire to the trunk? Or do I have to take the whole seat back off as well?
Thanks again for posting all the pics! Can I get away with removing just the bottom part of the rear seat when I am running power wire to the trunk? Or do I have to take the whole seat back off as well?
You can try poking the wire underneath but it would probably be easier to remove the back rests as well. Just to make your job a little easier and prevent you the headache of ordering new parts like i did here are some photo's that should help you with the seat removal.
Rear seat bottom clip *DO NOT PULL SEAT UP WITHOUT RELEASING THIS IT SHOULD NOT BE HARD* to release it you just pull the lever under the seat you feel towards the front of the vehicle and push the seat up to the roof of the car do one side at a time. This is a close up of a broken seat clip from using brawn over brain. Left is a brand new seat clip the red circle shows the lever you need to pull. *Had to replace mine* The rear seat backrests are held on by two metal pieces that the rear seat backrests clips into you have to push the seats up with a decent amount of force to get them out. This part of the install was the hardest I had to move both front seats forward to get enough room too put a large pry bar under the seat and push them up. You may need to wedge a block or have someone hold the first side you got out so it doesn't fall back in when removing the second side. Close up of the metal piece the rear seat backrests clips into. Just to give you an idea of how to remove it.
Update for my build new box installed just need to wrap the wood holding it up i also sound deadened my door panels and the rear deck lid to get rid of the rattle my speakers have more mid base i used frost king duct insulation and had no problems and the car is rattle free
Sound deadening is the foil looking stuff (looks shitty because i was just messing around to see if it did anything and now im rattle free)
Hey nice write up. Where did you connect the remote turn on from the loc? I have a 2012 tl w/tech pkg and i want to do what you did and add a sub with a mono amp.
Hey nice write up. Where did you connect the remote turn on from the loc? I have a 2012 tl w/tech pkg and i want to do what you did and add a sub with a mono amp.
I installed a switch that i use to manually turn the L.O.C on and off its connected to something that only gets power when the car is on i dont know exactly what it was though i used a test light.
06-04-2017, 09:35 AM
