Subwoofer Setup Suggestions
 

Ok i want to put in a subwoofer for obvious reasons(i like my bass and the interior speakers just dont give out any bass). Im looking to go with a single 12 inch woofer around 1000 watt rms(3000 watts peak) and about a 1000 watt amp and 2.0+ farad capacitor. It is going in my vert trunk but here is the catch. I dont want to/cant use up all my trunk space(have to take brother to dads every weekend. So any suggestions on boxes, subs, and anything else i might need to know about?



The sub probably wont be running more than 1100 watts ever. dont want the car to rattle apart

You may not like this suggestion, but here it is anyway: Why don't you go for an 8" amplified Bazooka and do quick plugs for the connections? Feed the speaker level inputs from the OEM sub leads, disconnect the oem subs. It won't take up much space, it is extremely light weight and it could be easily removed. You can buy a front mounted level control to adjust the gain on the fly.

Not to mention it gets really really loud.

BTW, are you one of them racist rednecks that John Murtha loves to hate????

I thought about a similar setup but was going to go with an indash crossover/equalizer instead of having the pocket in my dash cuz it is basically useless any setup i use its getting the indash crossover. my cd player has two sets of of rca outputs one for front and one fro rear one set is being used because someone eliminated all the OEM amps and ran a single kenwood amp for the interior. The price isnt a big deal(still not spending $1000 on a sub setup).

Racist Redneck???? whre did that come from

just wondering if any company make a bigger alternator or if there is a mod i can do or just get a new stocker

There are many threads on here for alternator mods. FD alts are practically a drop in swap. Jackhild has a great thread where he found he could use a Taurus alt. One of the best things you can learn is how to use the forums search engine.

Here's something to consider for sub enclosures for a vert. Build one for under the reardeck. It's unused space and you can save your trunk for more important things. Though you'd have to drop down to an 8 or 10. As the linked thread says, I had a 10 I put under the reardeck but had too much rattle. I just recently put a quality 8 under there and so far I love it.

https://www.rx7club.com/interior-exterior-audio-26/fc-sub-enclosures-794063/

Damn you had to have a vert :(

I have special plans for a custom sub setup in my coupe, if anyone wants to know feel free to pm.

when you say almost direct dop in what do i need to mod?

im running a similar set up, you dont need the cap for one sub

even if the sub is going to be hitting around 1100 watts sometimes? i know my friends subaru with dueal tens and a 1100watt amp would stall at idle with a new batt and alternator until we put in a cap. not saying you are wrong but rather safe then sorry as my lights dim now and i just redid all usual grounds

I got a 800w amp and powering two 600w subs my car didn't stall nor lights dim much. Get a FD alt or I saw on a site theres special rebuilt FD alts that do like 160A or so, try to get that to dim :O

Caps are bad, I suggest not to use them. I have a friend who was a audio craze in cars, had his dads truck wired up with some crazy sups n all his familys cars, he put a cap in the truck and man does that thing like to kill batteries.

i think i will go with a fd alternator. as soon as i can find out what has to be done to make it fit

Theirs a write up on it, it's relitivly simple from what I read I'm going to do it when I get the cashola.

i just read a thread about 130amp+ alternators. still reading its five pages long lol. seems to be tons of options just a matter of opinion and money situation i guess.

Just saw your post above....kudos for getting started finding out what is best for you

If you give a man a fish you feed him for a day, if you teach him to fish you feed him for a lifetime.....as the saying goes.

https://www.rx7club.com/how-use-site-255/where-search-button-792317/

I'm not at all trying to be rude, but as a general rule, you'll get more and better responses to your questions once you have done some looking on your own first. I own a S5 which is an even easier swap, while you own a S4 which requires you to change the harness connecting the alt. I'm not sure the details as I've never had to do it, but it's a very common swap with many threads about it. Using "search" and "advanced search" will get you started.

A great site for car electronics.

the12volt.com

There are great threads about "the big three" upgrade to your wiring that will help prevent lights dimming. There are great threads on caps and their worth. Speaking from experience. I found a 1 farad cap helped with the immediate light dimming problems. BUT who knows the damage I did to previous batteries and alternators before I upgraded my marginal OEM charging system to match the upgraded electronics. I've done "the big three" and swapped an FD alt and added an Optima battery.....haven't seen any problems with lights dimming and seem to keep a steady reading on my volt gauge. I've got the cap still in the car but disconnected, so far I haven't seen any reason to keep it.

One thing I forgot to add....

Gotham Racing was at one time doing a $150 rebuilt and polished FD alternator. Not sure if they are still doing it.

The reason a cap isn't any good is because they have to charge, drawing uneeded current at times, then recharging.

I like MOSFET amps, work gr8 don't drain too much juice.

Murtha's Racist comment http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbiql...eature=related

Murtha's Redneck comment- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGokJ...eature=related

Have to disagree with you here. The cap is merely a temporary storage for the current needed by the amp. There will be slightly more current used by the amp because the amp is not starved during peaks, but the effect on the alternator/charging system is only positive-the cap smooths the demand on the alt.

BTW, you could have the same exact effect with an auxiliary battery right next to the amp, but the cap achieves the desired effect with less cost, complication and weight.

Uhm, I think pretty much every amp on the market is mosfet these days, unless you are getting into really really cheap junk.

And yes, you do need to upgrade your alternator and at least 1 of the 'big 3'. The alternator to the battery wire. The battery to chassis and the chassis to engine is already adequate for the starter inrush, so it is ok, assuming that the connections are clean.

Did I say assume? Check and clean them.

Good Luck!

A 2 farad cap is not even close to the size you are going to need. Get a kinetics power cell and that will solve everything. Has a built in 500 farad capacitor and like 800 cca for the 1400r. Price is close to 250 but well worth it.

i had 2 8inch woofers in the strut towers, perfect fit!

now i ditched them because of the weight and access to my suspension adjustment screw.
now i rarely have the radio on, i rather listen to the raging rotary ;)

i use a ported cylindrical enclosure and can either be put in the trunk or underneath the cover where the vert top lays,after cutting a piece where the spare tire sits on. i found this to be the most convenient for vert owners saving room. i also took out the trunk plastic backing. with a ported enclosure, sound travels freely through the car.

I have a bazooka sitting in the spare tire well it rocks out, dawg.

wow i shoulda checked this awhile ago haha, mine sometimes hits 1200 and the headlights dont even dim so i think you will be good

Yea cuz your running xpold crap. That 1200 max is a major overstatement.

well picked up a 12 inch, 1200 watt max power sub today to use for a little while. who knows maybe i will like it. Still dont have an amp but was running wires for there to be an amp in the trunk and i found two lonely unhooked speaker wires. What did they go to you ask. The head rest speakers that work great now(no adjustment from the console). SO i hooked them up to my interior amp. I think im going to rob the interior amp for now anyways to run the sub. it should gove it about 300watts(50 less than the rms of the sub). Still waiting on install because when we made my box(Made it the right way meaning caulked all joints and what not) i made it 3 inches too big so i left it at my dads house and he is going to size it down and i will pic it up tuesday or wednesday. The box is ported and will be damn close to "optimim for that sub.

I will keep you all updated and maybe even with a vid when im done. Next question is what do i cover it with? Do i carpet it? Should i Bondo/fiberglass it and paint it. Or even better yet one thin layer of bondo and then Carbon Fiber wrap it?