Hi all, first of all the obligatory apology, sorry if I'm rehashing something old!

This is the situation, I would like to keep the stock speakers, stock HU, everything.
EXCEPT, I would like to add an AMP (located anywhere, preferrably under the passenger's side seat) and a 10" sub in the back,
How would I got about wiring this scenario? I've heard that the "power antenna" wire can
be used as the remote amp turn-on. I've got an amp selected and a nice speaker selected and am planning on bridging the amp outputs (2) which should give me 140W / 1CH @ 4 OHM (RMS). I have two primary concerns.

I.) Can I take the sub output on the back of the stock HU and pipe that straight into the AMP? My amp has both low level and high level inputs, will this be compatible?

II.) How can I route the wiring from the HU to the amp (probably under the passenger's seat, and from that to the sub all the way in the back?
Is the floor panel removable or something?

Any help would greatly be appreciated!

Thanks a lot, in advance!

-- Briam R.

I'm not a pro at audio installation (Emass can attest to that! =D). But I think I might have at least picked up a little something from all the time I've spent wiring up my speakers for the last two weeks.

1.) In case you didn't know, the amp turn-on lead would be the same as the power antenna wire on the HU. The color of the wire is yellow w/ green tracer. I was finally able to tap into it last night on my own setup and it works perfectly to power up my amp/speakers.

2.) You can route the wires under your passenger seat through the flooring, but I found it to be a difficult unless you remove the flooring. It's tied down by velcro at the front edges where the passenger's feet would be and you might also need to remove the door sill and kick panel for easier access.

You can also try to route your wires through the door sill and through the plastic panels in the back of the E to get to your subwoofer. Check out Emass' setup with his sub. He has a super clean connection for his sub.

In regards to running the wires...

Mine is run under the plastic side panels and door sills (where the floor and side panels/door sills meet. It tucks very neatly under there without even removing the panels. I put in dual 10's and mounted the amp right to the back of the sub box. This way there is no drilling into any panels for mounting. I would have put it under the pax seat, but it did not fit. There's not much room under there.

This set up allows me to quickly unplug the box & amp for removal if need be. My wires all come out under the rear seat so they are totally hidden.

Are you just doing this for more bass?

If so, why not run a self amplified sub like bazooka or infinity? You can generally wire them into either line level or rca pre outputs so it's pretty simple.

After all, this is the kind of thing these products are made for. :D

http://www.bazooka.com/productImages/6_m.jpg
http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/products/2003/108/l108BASSLCLBig_LD.jpeg

wow....yet another ingenius idea by emass! =D

Hello all,

I ran my amp to the drivers under the drivers seat, & instead of running down the doorsills, I went down the middle. I removed the middle console & the console where the stock woofer goes (I have a DX, no woofer). Took a coat hanger & jammed it up the middle, attached the wires with tape, & pulled them through to the emergency brake. I then took my dremel out & dremelled out a little spot in the middle console (close to the floor) for the wires to come out. Very clean, came out real good. For my sub, I went straight ghetto. I didn't want to compromise any space in the back (I snowboard every weekend & need the space). I had an old Fosgate 8" tube lying around with a Fogate punch 8" in it. I though, "Hmm". What I did is got out my saw & cut the tube a little bit more than half way. I sanded down all the rough edges & reinstalled the 8" woofer. There were some air gaps, but nothing a little duco cement & tape couldn't cure. I then had some leopard material lying around, so I recarpeted the tube. The tube now sits in the back of the center console (between the front seats). No space is compromised, & for a ghetto hook up, it sounds pretty damn good. It was rolling around a little bit, so I purchased those cheapo grab handles at lowes (while I was picking up my gutter guards for the front mod) & drilled them into the space part in the console. I then took an old studded belt I had & cut it down a little bit & strapped down my sub. I like the way the whole thing came out.

Later,
Chap

I think I can get a better deal by buying the AMP and the woofer separate,
Even though it is easier to install a self-powered sub it costs me almost 2x more
to get one than to buy the components individually. Thanks for the great idea though, I hadn't considered that angle.

-- Briam R.

[quote:3ac2fde96d=" "]I think I can get a better deal by buying the AMP and the woofer separate[/quote:3ac2fde96d]

Really? Unless you're buying low end stuff don't forget you'll need (using rough cost averages) ...

An amplifier: $200
Amplifier wiring kit: $40
Amplifier installation: $40
Subwoofer: $100
Sub enclosure: $100
Subwoofer assembly and installation: $40
Total: $520


Compare those costs with even the highest end self powered subs:

Bazooka RS10A-HP 10" 150-watt RMS Powered Subwoofer: $299.00
or
Infinity BassLink 10" 200 Watt Class D Powered Subwoofer: $349.00
Installation: $40
Cost range: $339.00 - $389.00


That seems cheaper to me plus you won't be hacking apart a seat tray or waiting all day for your installer to put everything in.

The main reason I'm reiterating my point though is because these powered subs are a far better match for augmenting the low end on a factory system. It's exactly what they're designed for and you won't be disappointed in the way they sound.

However, if you have plans to at some point upgrade all of your factory components as well then I would recommend that you consider using independant amps and components. Be smart about it now though - don't hack your underseat area or waste installation bucks simply to accomodate a crappy mono sub amp now that you'll grow out of later - instead, consider buying a 4 channel amp now and only run 2 channels to the sub until you upgrade everything else. Someday, run your front speakers off the other 2 channels and run the back off of an upgraded head units power.

Just some things to consider per my experience over the years. :)

Amp: $49
http://www.heavybass.com/product_info.php?cPath=29_30&products_id=72

Woofer, 10": $26
http://www.heavybass.com/product_info.php?cPath=40_55&products_id=158

The woofer enclosure I plan on bumming off a friend or buying a cheapo one at walmart,
then adjusting it, recarpeting it. The installation I'm sure I can do myself.

$75 total plus the installation kit $20 odd bucks at walmart = $95 bucks.

Not bad for a 140 watt RMS AMP (bridged) + 200 watt continuous power woofer, eh?

What do you think emass?

[quote:40437aafc8=" "]What do you think emass?[/quote:40437aafc8]

Looks like the actual amp and sub manufacturer is "American Pro". Honestly, it's very low end stuff so be sure that you can exchange it through Heavybass if it ever dies. At this end of the price spectrum the power supplies tend to die frequently because that's where they have to cut costs mostly. The push terminals on the sub are a nice ease of use feature however - you generally onls see that on much higher end stuff.

Would I use that manufacturer? Probably not. In general I try not to put fairly heavy duty electronics in my car from manufacturers that I'm not very familiar with just for safety reasons.

Your mileage may vary however. :D

The Infinity Basslink is a great sub. I have one in my BMW. I got it for $214 delivered from ebay (brand new). It is very powerful and I like the remote (wired) gain. I don't know where I would put one in the E. I screwed it to the back of the seat on my 318ti.

[quote:7839633545=" "]Are you just doing this for more bass?

If so, why not run a self amplified sub like bazooka or infinity? You can generally wire them into either line level or rca pre outputs so it's pretty simple.

After all, this is the kind of thing these products are made for. :D

http://www.bazooka.com/productImages/6_m.jpg
http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/products/2003/108/l108BASSLCLBig_LD.jpeg[/quote:7839633545]

eMass, I'd like to add a Bazooka powered sub in the back of my E and I was wondering if I could use the speaker wires from the rear speakers to feed the signal to the sub? What I'm concerned about is if there is a crossover filter somewhere in the line to the rear speakers that would prevent the Bazooka from getting the freq it needs? Also, do you think it would be okay to splice into the rear power outlet for power for the sub? Thank you very much!

[quote:b85294a1b8=" "][quote:b85294a1b8=" "]Are you just doing this for more bass?

If so, why not run a self amplified sub like bazooka or infinity? You can generally wire them into either line level or rca pre outputs so it's pretty simple.

After all, this is the kind of thing these products are made for. :D

http://www.bazooka.com/productImages/6_m.jpg
http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/products/2003/108/l108BASSLCLBig_LD.jpeg[/quote:b85294a1b8]

eMass, I'd like to add a Bazooka powered sub in the back of my E and I was wondering if I could use the speaker wires from the rear speakers to feed the signal to the sub? What I'm concerned about is if there is a crossover filter somewhere in the line to the rear speakers that would prevent the Bazooka from getting the freq it needs? Also, do you think it would be okay to splice into the rear power outlet for power for the sub? Thank you very much![/quote:b85294a1b8]

Ya - you should be able to use the rear speaker wiring for signal - I believe the signal going to those speakers is full range - the Bazooka will then cut off the extra frequencies with its own crossover.

Also, I think you'll be fine using the rear power outlet to power the sub - just be sure to leave the fuse on the bazooka wiring for safety.

you can splice into the power outlets to power your amps? how do you do that and what are the limits?

and won't taking the signal from the rear speakers increase impedance provide less power?

[quote:b1fb9cc6ba=" "]you can splice into the power outlets to power your amps? how do you do that and what are the limits?

and won't taking the signal from the rear speakers increase impedance provide less power?[/quote:b1fb9cc6ba]

1. Yes, it's an accessory jack. Just pop it out of the housing and splice away. As to the load limits - check your fuse box and/or owners manual. I wouldn't do this with standalone amps - but the type that self power a small tube type sub should be sufficient since they don't make big power. YMMV.

2. Yes, to the rear speaker(s) but it won't affect the aftermarket sub box because it has its own amp and expects high level inputs anyway. A better way to do this however would be to disconnect, extend and route the high level wiring going to the factory sub all the way back to the cargo area. Even better than that would be to grab the low level signal before it hits the amp and extend it to the new sub.

eMass, thanks for your help! :)