putting subs in my car?

[curtis rosche]

ive recently gained an interest in bumping up my car stereo a bit. i have never really delt with audio stuff before. any recomendations as to what brand of subs to look at or cheap places to get them? or any brands to stay away from?

[Greg Portland]

Building the subwoofer is a fairly easy DIY project. Running the power and signal cables from your battery and head unit can be more involved. Specific recommendations are going to depend on your budget, how loud and/or musical you want the bass and the amount of area you're willing to devote in your vehicle to a subwoofer enclosure. In general, a smaller enclosure will require more power to achieve the same output level (i.e. a more expensive amplifier and possibly an upgrade to the car's electrical system to power that amp). For example, I have a 2 cu.ft. enclosure in my car and it only needs a 250W amp which is easily powered by my stock existing alternator. My choice of driver & enclosure size was for bass extension, not pure output.

Recommended steps:
1) Does your head unit have a subwoofer output? If not, compare the cost of a crossover with a new head unit.
2) Determine the performance you want from your subwoofer. How musical and how loud? Based on this & your budget determine the amp, driver, and enclosure that you'll need.
3) Does your vehicle have existing wiring for an optional sub? If not, you'll need to run power from your battery (through a fuse @ the battery and at the amp unless you want your car to burn down!!!). The wiring needs to be sized appropriately for the amplifier or it will melt (I used 4g wire which is considered small in most custom installs). If you don't have a signal wire then you'll need to run 1-2 coax cables (typically RCA terminated) from your head unit to the sub location. These can typically be run under the door trim or under the floor mats. Pay particular attention to your grounding system or you will have a hum on your sub. It is highly likely that you'll need to upgrade the ground wires (chassis to neg battery, engine to chassis, and alternator to pos. battery) in your vehicle. Google "big 3 upgrade" for more info.
4) Build the subwoofer and test it outside the vehicle. A long post is required to list all the tips and tricks for building enclosures (don't worry, it's not too hard).

partsexpress.com is a good source for all the parts you'll need.

[Wayne Hendrix]

... or any brands to stay away from?

All of them. I'm 37 and cant pick out words in a conversation if there is background noise. I have had entire conversations where I have no idea what was said to me or what I agreed to. I know this is unwanted advice but ...

[Rich Engelhardt]

All of them. I'm 37 and cant pick out words in a conversation if there is background noise. I have had entire conversations where I have no idea what was said to me or what I agreed to. I know this is unwanted advice but

LOL!
(laughing w/you not @ you)

I know that feeling all too well.

My wife and I will go somewhere & someone will be talking to me. I just nod my head most of the time in some noncommital fashion.
If it comes down to me having to actually answer something, I look at my wife & she has to repeat what the person asked.

She's always after me to go get my hearing checked - total waste of time IMO - I can't hear squat & don't have to pay someone to tell me I can't hear.
The when she brings up that I need a hearing aid, I just tell her 90% of what's going on isn't worht listening to anyhow - the other 10% I just look at her or say "Huh"?

That usually ends w/me getting a little "love tap" from her.
(translation - she gives me a good hard shot to the upper arm & walks away - leaving me to my blissful silence - well except for that herd of crickets that are always chirping )

[Charlie Reals]

LOL!
(laughing w/you not @ you)

I know that feeling all too well.

My wife and I will go somewhere & someone will be talking to me. I just nod my head most of the time in some noncommital fashion.
If it comes down to me having to actually answer something, I look at my wife & she has to repeat what the person asked.

She's always after me to go get my hearing checked - total waste of time IMO - I can't hear squat & don't have to pay someone to tell me I can't hear.
The when she brings up that I need a hearing aid, I just tell her 90% of what's going on isn't worht listening to anyhow - the other 10% I just look at her or say "Huh"?

That usually ends w/me getting a little "love tap" from her.
(translation - she gives me a good hard shot to the upper arm & walks away - leaving me to my blissful silence - well except for that herd of crickets that are always chirping )

Yep +1 to that, mine wasn't from subs in cars butt loss is loss. Pre osha,the only ear protection was a butt filter in your ears lol.

[ray hampton]

when some driver pull up close to me at a red light, I would turn my radio up until the last loud radio that I heard and I told the driver to turn his radio up, he look at me for a minute before he turn his radio down

[curtis rosche]

when picking an amp, do you go by the max wattage of the two speakers, or by the rms wattage?

[Greg Portland]

when picking an amp, do you go by the max wattage of the two speakers, or by the rms wattage?

You pick by amp quality 1st and then by wattage. A Class-D amp is fine for subwoofers. You want to avoid under-powering the sub (clipping will blow the driver). For 2 drivers, you can drive one off of stereo channels or run them in series or parallel & drive them with one channel. Having said that, if you have two 500W max drivers then get a 2x500W amp or a 1000W single channel amp.

[John Lohmann]

Have you changed the factory speakers yet? That can make a big difference without changing you headend & adding a amp

[Derek Gilmer]

Are you going for sound quality or sound level? Most "thumping" systems around here are about 20db to high on everything under 120hz. Also what is your budget and what size enclosure can you fit in the car?

[Tim Morton]

I have been installing car audio (serious stuff), in my cars for over 30 years....and think i can offer some advice here. But first things first. Tells us about your car, your skills, your budget , your music, and your expectations, and maybe most important, how much space in your trunk or hatchback are you willing to give up?

Generally i would suggest replacing the Head unit if possible, but alot of times in new cars that is impossible..if thats the case there are solutions to take that output signal and maximize it into aftermarket amplifications
Next replace the front speakers...and if possible remove the rear speakers...they don't help and usually hurt. If you keep them, thrun them way down.
subwoofer...a single 12" sub will give you solid output at most reasonable listening levels. Some 10's can do the same thing, but you will want 2 of them....if you have the space go for it. 8's are wicked cool too..you need more than 2, and they have limitations..but they are fun to play with.
power...get some!! Things to stay away from ...chrome...if it has chrome on it, i will almost guarantee it is cheap ...Go talk to an audio sales guy in your town...you will know almost instantly if he deserves any of your money..if you see a red flag...run. The biggest red flag...ask him to see the install bay, and ask him for a list of 3 recent customers to call and talk too about his work. If the bay is spotless in the middle of the day...thats a very good sign. If there is chaos...run. Expect to spend More than you think to get good sound....but its worth it. Good Luck...and if you have any questions let me know...i maybe be able to steer you in a good direction.

[Derek Gilmer]

If the bay is spotless in the middle of the day...thats a very good sign.

You should never come near my shop or desk at work....Organized chaos is how my brain works best. Your other points are all spot on though.

If you want to get really involved check out winisd. It is a great sub modeling program. And plays into how you pick your amp. The RMS on a sub is nearly pointless in my opinion. What you want to know is how many watts of clean power you need to push the sub to get the sound levels at the frequencies you want with out pushing it past max excursion and ruining it. Staying below max is even better for distortion. The box you put it it has a lot to do with that. A 12" sub in a small sealed box filtered for only sound between 120 and 50 hz can take/will need more power than that same 12" sub in a large ported box tuned to 30hz before destroying itself.

[curtis rosche]

What I am looking at Putting in is a set of Sony xplods. A Sony xplod headunit ( my current one is about dead. It's factory and scratches CDs ). And two ten inch Sony xPlod subs. Rated at 1100watts max and 300rms each. I am going to put some of my wood skills to use and build a ported box for them. The box will go in the trunk of my 2001 ford focus. When using them I will put the back seat down. I'm trying to find a decent amp to power them that isn't costly. I know that the more you pay the better the quality. Tim, I'm happy with the quality of the stock 6x9s in my front and rear doors, I just want a little more kick in the bass. I'm not sure if any of you have ever listened to a genre of music called "dubstep" but it can be quite catchy and the best parts are the "drops". The song goes along and builds some tension. And then large amount of base "drops". A good example would be the song "scary monsters and nice sprites" by Skrillex. It is played on a commercial on tv

[Derek Gilmer]

I may be an audio snob.. but no, just no to sony xplods.

Do you know the hz range commonly used in dubstep? I checked wikipedia and they mention that it uses notes down to 20hz. If that is the case a sony xplod (or other cheap sub) is going to blow itself apart in a ported box with out a filter to protect it. It sounds like you are interested in the musical quality dubstep not just making your license plate rattle. In which case a good 12 in a ported box tuned to take your cabin gain into account may be better than two cheaper subs. Fi audio makes some nice subs. I'm using two of their IB18s in my home theater setup. If you can give me the dimensions of the box you can fit in your trunk and the hz range you want to play I can play with some modeling software to get you a good idea of what you need.

[curtis rosche]

Derek, I know they aren't great, but I'm trying to do a budget setup. Right now I'm lookin at about 230$ for an amp and a headunit and the two 10s. If you know of a set up that's under $300 including headunit, please let me know. I'm kinda new to the speaker world, when you say the Sony xplods are cheap , how bad are they? One of my friends has a whole car set up with a combination of xplod and kicker and his sounds pretty good and he has his calculated to around 130db.