Subwoofer upgrade.
 

Have any of you guys upgraded the factory equipped sub and gone with an aftermarket amp and speaker?? I had the rear seat out while doing the CDC Bar and starting thinking about it.

I chopped out the factory amp and replaced it with the JL XD700/5. This amp fits in the same location as the stock amp. I also added a sub enclosure (2) 10" subs. The difference in sound quality/clarity is night/day compared to the factory set-up. I still have the stock rear decklid speakers which seem to be holding up to the increased power level.

You may want to check out ********.com as they make a wiring harnesses that allows you to plug-n-play.

You need to get yourself an AMP, sub and upgrade the speakers, you won't be disappointed! I put in the Fark Harness from Subthumb.com, Kicker sub, JL amp and JL speakers. It sounds amazing! Check out my build thread for all the complete items and what I did to my vert. I just finished some upgrades to my engine so now all I listen too is the exhaust!

I have this in my trunk. It fits perfectly snug in the trunk to cabin opening and doesn't need fastening. Sounds killer.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-me...e=UTF8&index=0

Well I really didn't want to lose what little trunk I have being a vert. I was just thinking about upgrading that single one that comes mounted behind the rear seat.
This one! I was just wondering which after market would fit ok seeing that behind it is where the top folds into.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...ps17ba8546.jpg

I used the ******** harness and stealthbox. JLw6 12" with a 600 watt JL Mono amp (turned up half way). If anything its to much. Very clean sound from JL and ******** made the install easy. Still need to at least upgrade the stock amp.

I did what he said,
JL StealthBox fits perfectly on driver side rear, I put the JL XD600 behind the carpet in passenger side rear fender, and put the RLC remote inside the center console.
I'd need to save up some money to do the rest of the system someday

we convertible guys cant put those sub enclosures in the back like you can in the coupe. can't block the cargo shade.

I haven't messed with it but im sure you can stick a better speaker in there and toss in a better amp as well.

Cool guys I found exactly what I was looking for on ********.com. Thanks for the heads up and great input!

Just placed my order with ********.com - taking the plunge since the stock system is just pathetic on certain songs from the ipod

Ordered the FARK (Factory Amp Replacement Kit), Amp mounting board, and dual 10 inch box

I have some high end equipment left over from a previous install. I think I'll start out with Alpine PDX amps (4 channel & Mono sub) and (2) Kicker Solobaric 10's..I'll see how the system as a whole performs before I go replacing all the stock speakers - they are Boston Acoustic after all. :w00t:

My only concern is not being able to adjust the sub volume independently from the drivers seat. Obviously I could buy an amp that has a remote volume control but I'd like to use what I have already. Guess I'll just have to find a happy medium with the gain control on the sub amp.

My guess is the additions above will have a dramatic effect on the sound quality/bass/volume. I'll post results as I get further along.

I've upgraded mine, and I have a vert. I also didn't want to lose trunk space. I took out the factory sub, and mounted a better quality one in it's place. The screw holes did not line up, so I drilled new holes in the plate. Next, I used a bunch of dynamat and basically made a sealed box by putting the dynamat all over the framing members between the trunk and back seat. It took a while, but we got 98% of the air leaks sealed off. It sounds nice, and I didn't lose any trunk space, and no one knows that I have something aftermarket in there.

for the amps, I mounted them in the space for the spare tire (no tire is in there on the zl1's) and I just removed that foam thing that holds the air pump. My air pump just sits in the trunk now beside the vert cover.

I have the GM MTB Box with 2 10" Speakers. Fits great in the trunk but doesn't sound great with ALL songs. Sometimes it distorts the bass.

Here is what it looks like:

http://www.amazon.com/GM-92213214-Su.../dp/B008FCCPBM

Vert stereo
 

I think the only way to go is with the Subthumb.com system. I installed a Kicker 10" sub and JL 700/5 AMP. I also installed Dynamat all over everywhere I could reach to include the complete trunk and interior. I replaced the stock speakers with JL's 6.5's, tweeters, crossovers and 3.5's in the rear seat. I installed batting behind the rear speaker area in all of the empty cavity behind the sub speaker. You'll see after you get the seat out and speaker removed what I'm talking about. This stereo system sounds amazing now!! Check out the build thread for a detailed step by step on everything Iv'e done so far.

Got my stuff from ********.com and installed it today..WOW what a difference a little power and a couple 10 inch subs made! It's amazingly louder and now there's BASS!

It's not competition quality but it sounds pretty good for factory speakers/head unit and I got to keep all the functionality of the stock head unit.

Here's the anemic stock amp in the trunk prior to removal:
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps2a7964b3.jpg

The Alpine PDX-4.100 4-way amp installed on a custom amp rack, also provided by ********.com(you can also see the FARK in this pic):
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps0d16b5ea.jpg

This is what took so long - the power & ground wiring for the amps:
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps3c5cbf6b.jpg

Here's the Alpine PDX-1.600 Sub amp on the front of the box provided by ********.com (still need to clean up some wiring):
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps64283f33.jpg

This is a handy little adapter/harness provided by ********.com that allows your aftermarket amp to power both the mids and tweeters in the stock 6x9s:
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps7452c8e7.jpg

The finished product (Stock Amp location):
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...psea2f8bf2.jpg

And finally the ********.com box with my Kicker Solobaric 10's installed:
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps55a15853.jpg

Forgot to mention the air compressor/foam insert fits in the spare tire well with all the additional wiring (another reason it took so long).

looks great!

Thanks! Another thing worth noting is no holes were drilled anywhere to mount everything. The fuse block and power distribution block are both attached with velcro (we'll see how it holds up) and several adhesive mounts/cable ties were used to fasten wiring in place.