DIY: Installing Aftermarket Subs w/ Stock HU ( and Premium Sound System)

[XwithhonorX]

how is the sound hooking up aftermarket speakers to factory hu? cuz ive been told that it sounds horrible. or did u just do subs? just wondering cuz i put aftermarket hu in and the metra dashkit looks like crap!!! doesnt match the color
right and the whole thing is just off

[GulfCoastGhostHunters]

Originally Posted by XwithhonorX

how is the sound hooking up aftermarket speakers to factory hu? cuz ive been told that it sounds horrible. or did u just do subs? just wondering cuz i put aftermarket hu in and the metra dashkit looks like crap!!! doesnt match the color
right and the whole thing is just off

ha, it's funny you talk about that. From everything i've heard is that the metra kit wasn't all that great. that is what made me do this setup. i just added aftermarked amp and sub to the factory HU and it really does sound pretty good for me. I've always had an aftermarket system in all of my vehicles but because of the cost of installing one right, in the new civic, I decided with this setup.

[digital]

Originally Posted by XwithhonorX

how is the sound hooking up aftermarket speakers to factory hu? cuz ive been told that it sounds horrible. or did u just do subs? just wondering cuz i put aftermarket hu in and the metra dashkit looks like crap!!! doesnt match the color
right and the whole thing is just off

It will sound horrible if you hook up cheap speakers, I mean cheaper than the stock ones, and the stock 6.5" ones are worth about 20$ per pair. I've replaced my 6.5" with Alpines SPR-17LS and they sound way much better. They give less bass than stock though, but that's because they need more power (like most after market speakers) than the stock HU can provide. I am waiting for the scosche dash kit to arrive, so I can swap the HU.

[gpennino]

I was thinking how much bass you can get from the trunk... I used to own a hatch and there is no restriction to the bass, but now with a sedan, I don't know.

What is your experience?

[GulfCoastGhostHunters]

Originally Posted by gpennino

I was thinking how much bass you can get from the trunk... I used to own a hatch and there is no restriction to the bass, but now with a sedan, I don't know.

What is your experience?

It all depends on what you are putting in the trunk. I had the exact same subwoofer setup in my prior vehicle, a Nissan XTerra, and honestly It's louder in my coupe. Just because it's in a trunk doesn't mean you will not get as much bass, in my experience. The trunk almost acts like another box, making the subs resonate more, more boomy sounding. but yeah I agree subs can be pretty damn loud in a hatch.

[jonebone]

You can always ride around with the backseats down for an even louder sound. I got my LOC in the mail today, so hopefully I'll put a system in soon. I was going to go with a 750 watt Kicker amp and an L7, but my friend is selling his 500 watt kicker amp and an L5 (plus all the wiring, and he has 100$ rockford fosgate wire) for $400. Not to mention I've heard how it hits in his Scion TC, and it sounds GOOD. One L5 with a proper amp sounds better than several dual 12" setups that I've seen. Something about the Square sub... it just hits so hard. This same friend of mine actually helped me install a system in my last car, so hopefully I get one in my SI soon.

One question.... any bad rattle spots? I'm worried about license plate rattle, or anything else that could rattle from the trunk. Any input would be appreciated.

[lostdaytomorrow]

Originally Posted by jonebone

You can always ride around with the backseats down for an even louder sound. I got my LOC in the mail today, so hopefully I'll put a system in soon. I was going to go with a 750 watt Kicker amp and an L7, but my friend is selling his 500 watt kicker amp and an L5 (plus all the wiring, and he has 100$ rockford fosgate wire) for $400. Not to mention I've heard how it hits in his Scion TC, and it sounds GOOD. One L5 with a proper amp sounds better than several dual 12" setups that I've seen. Something about the Square sub... it just hits so hard. This same friend of mine actually helped me install a system in my last car, so hopefully I get one in my SI soon.

One question.... any bad rattle spots? I'm worried about license plate rattle, or anything else that could rattle from the trunk. Any input would be appreciated.

Rattle Spots are horrible in my LX Coupe, do a search for rattle in thread titles.

[rmfa]

Originally Posted by digital

8" and 10" subs most likely have different phase shift, frequency response and group delay parameters. Although both speakers will be given the same signal, they will not 'play' it in the same way. Because of the properties of sound waves, this is not recommended.

This sounds amazing in my car. I left both of them connected...

[brooklynscat69]

Nice DIY. just wondering I have a Navi and im going to get an alpine type R (Only 1) with an equal enough amp. But Im definately not taking out my navi for subs. If I bought a HI LO converter i heard itll be pretty good but still garbage. Is this true? Or will it actually sound good?

[toxin]

why not just get a sub amp that accepts speaker level inputs?

[*007*civic]

thnx guys this site has been a lot of help to me... ive decided to stick with my factory head unit juss to keep the sleek look and keep the steering wheel controls..

juss one question... where does the LOC hook up to? rear speakers or behind the head unit??

thnx again this sites kick ass

[articsilber323]

how many ft of power wire do i need to run power to my trunk?

[*007*civic]

also.. is ther any other place i can hook up my acc wire .. i dont really wana go throo the hassle of takin apart the dash to get to it.. is ther any way of gettin around this?

[GulfCoastGhostHunters]

Originally Posted by *007*civic

thnx guys this site has been a lot of help to me... ive decided to stick with my factory head unit juss to keep the sleek look and keep the steering wheel controls..

juss one question... where does the LOC hook up to? rear speakers or behind the head unit??

thnx again this sites kick ass

if you are doing aftermarket subs, the LOC would hook up to the factory woofer speaker wires. just T-Tap into them from the rear. It's incredibly easy to do!

[GulfCoastGhostHunters]

Originally Posted by articsilber323

how many ft of power wire do i need to run power to my trunk?

hrm, it's been awhile since i had done this project. but I believe i got 20ft from a local audio shop and I had some excess. It's always good to have more than enough wire than not enough, trust me!

[GulfCoastGhostHunters]

Originally Posted by *007*civic

also.. is ther any other place i can hook up my acc wire .. i dont really wana go throo the hassle of takin apart the dash to get to it.. is ther any way of gettin around this?

to answer your question, yes, there is another spot for the ACC wire, i believe I saw someone on the forum tap into it through somewhere in the fuse box? Honesly I have no clue where it is located, maybe do a search and you could find it, all i know it's a purple wire w/ a silver stripe. I wish I could help you more.

[shoulinpanther]

I know this thread is a little old but if you plug it back into the factory sub I don't see it causing a problem, but I also could be wrong I haven't put my system in yet. Since your signal that is going to the 8 is going through a LOC and into the amp it shouldn't cause a problem with the bass coming out of the aftermartet subs you should just get a mid bass out of the 8 and then a rediculous amount of bass out of your 3 10's.

[GulfCoastGhostHunters]

Originally Posted by shoulinpanther

I know this thread is a little old but if you plug it back into the factory sub I don't see it causing a problem, but I also could be wrong I haven't put my system in yet. Since your signal that is going to the 8 is going through a LOC and into the amp it shouldn't cause a problem with the bass coming out of the aftermartet subs you should just get a mid bass out of the 8 and then a rediculous amount of bass out of your 3 10's.

well the only reason i didn't do this is because of the gain issues you might have. what I mean by that is, let's say I had both hooked up, and that I have my aftermarket sub playing at a different volume than the stock one. So lets say I turn the "sub" setting up on the HU, i might be getting different volumes out of the aftermarket subs and stock sub. which there may be a possibily of blowing the stock one, as it wouldn't be louder than the aftermarket and i wouldn't be able to hear it distorting..which might lead to a failure of the stock sub.

i don't know if i'm making sense here , i can see it in my head but, basically the aftermarkets can take more damage than the stock, and i might wind up blowin the stock up because of the volume level.

[Qshooter151]

Originally Posted by shoulinpanther

I know this thread is a little old but if you plug it back into the factory sub I don't see it causing a problem, but I also could be wrong I haven't put my system in yet. Since your signal that is going to the 8 is going through a LOC and into the amp it shouldn't cause a problem with the bass coming out of the aftermartet subs you should just get a mid bass out of the 8 and then a rediculous amount of bass out of your 3 10's.

the reason i didn't hook my factory sub up after installing my MTX's is because i was worried about lowering the impedance and damaging my hu. if i'm running my fac sub and feeding an aftermarket amp with the same speaker wire it may lower the ohms. i know it would with 2 speakers, not sure about a speaker and an amp. i didn't wanna take the chance and find out. my car went into the shop today. when i get it back i'll put my music back in and test it with the multimeter and post up the results.

[shoulinpanther]

Originally Posted by Qshooter151

the reason i didn't hook my factory sub up after installing my MTX's is because i was worried about lowering the impedance and damaging my hu. if i'm running my fac sub and feeding an aftermarket amp with the same speaker wire it may lower the ohms. i know it would with 2 speakers, not sure about a speaker and an amp. i didn't wanna take the chance and find out. my car went into the shop today. when i get it back i'll put my music back in and test it with the multimeter and post up the results.

That would be helpful and thenk you and keep me updated, I am planning a custom set up with 3 10's already of the design. My boss and I drew it out and figured it out already we are just waiting on me to get the all of my audiobahn equipment. I am doing the same keeping the stock HU I like the way its all set up plus I like to keep mine somewhat stock looking maybe carbon fiber accents but thats it.