New car, throwing in a sub.

[kylerock96]

Alright, so I'm getting a new car soon, and it's a hatchback. It's not got all the room in the world to put a whole sub box in the back, so I was going to use one of those tube subwoofers. I could mount it in the corner, but what power sub do I use? 100w? 800w? I know i'll probably need an amplifier, but that's about all I know. I COULD do a 1X10 sub box, but for size constraints, i'd rather use the tube. You think it would be enough?

 

[vskid3]

I have a Bazooka tube w/built in amp in my Prius, doesn't take up too much room. Its a "250w" (uses a 15A fuse on a 12-14v line...). It does a decent job filling the bottom end, but its definitely not a window rattler. They're pretty spendy, though, I've heard good things about some of the flat sub boxes that are about half the price.

http://priuschat.com/threads/installed- ... be.131826/

 

[kylerock96]

You didn't have to install another alternator? A friend of mine seems to think anything above 100w does, but that seems a little far fetched.

 

[kylerock96]

Also how difficult did you find it to route the battery and audio cables to it? Did your radio have a dedicated sub out, or did you install a crossover?

 

[Prog]

Why would you need an additional amp? Aren't the wattages you specify amplifier specs?

 

[kylerock96]

If it's a passive sub, you would need some way to amplify the sound going to it. The bazooka tube, which looks like it's going to be what I go with, is active, so needs no external amplification.

 

[Prog]

Would passive subs have a wattage? I assume they'd have a max wattage R's rating you could put into it?

 

[kylerock96]

This is true. They would have max you can put in, yes.

 

[vskid3]

Your friend is wrong, your cigarette lighter is likely fused to provide more than 100w. I would guesstimate that anything under 500w should be fine in almost any car, and the actual power usage will probably be lower.

My headunit has dedicated sub pre-outs that I used. The Bazooka has a built in crossover that's adjustable and can use either pre-outs or speaker level input. Power cables were easy, as the Prius' battery is below the floor on the right side of my picture, so I didn't have to deal with the firewall. I ran the audio cables through the dash and then back under the plastic along the floor of the door frame. I thought it was pretty easy, but I've done some similar stuff before.
What kind of car are you getting? Cable routing can vary between models, might be worth it to google "(car model) subwoofer install" and see what others have done with the same car.

 

[kylerock96]

I'm going to get a chevy sonic, but will probably replace the radio as soon as I can, because from what I hear it's god awful. It will have what is more akin to a single din radio, rather than double height, but I will still have to install an aftermarket trim piece as well as cable kit. I figure I could just run the wiring through the plastic floor trim by the doors, and just do the same with the power, as it would keep me from having to drill holes in my brand new car .


Btw, whereabouts do you live in texas? I'm in humble.

 

[vskid3]

Take your time and do some research about your car and modding it. Its not hard to do a good looking job, you just need to know how.

I'm in El Paso, clear on the other side of the state.

 

[kylerock96]

Well so far I found that there is a grommit in the firewall right behind the battery, which will allow me to run the 12v wire through from the battery, and I can run the sub out connections through that area as well, but I have to look into it to see where I go from there. Will update.

Well i'm gonna get the car in about a month, so i'll handle everything then. I've got some better speakers and some tweeters that my dad was given a few months ago, might see about buying them from him and think about throwing them in. The speakers are about the same size, and i've seen some people drill a hole in the plastic opposite the side mirrors, so i'll see about that. Sub won't be too difficult i'm thinking; people do it all over the web. Thanks for the help!

 

[Hermaphroditus]

I'm going to get a chevy sonic, but will probably replace the radio as soon as I can, because from what I hear it's god awful. It will have what is more akin to a single din radio, rather than double height, but I will still have to install an aftermarket trim piece as well as cable kit. I figure I could just run the wiring through the plastic floor trim by the doors, and just do the same with the power, as it would keep me from having to drill holes in my brand new car .


Btw, whereabouts do you live in texas? I'm in humble.

...Humble?

If you need some help I may be able to drive over and help you. I may be able to convince my brother to let us use the Midas after hours. He manages the Midas in Humble. I live about 15m North of Humble. I'll let you guess which city.

 

[kylerock96]

Yeah man, i'll be sure to let you know when the time comes.

I actually found an 05 G6 for pretty Dang cheap i'm going to get. Price is too good to pass up tbh. Has the same stereo as vskid put in his car, which if I remember correct was pretty high end.