IS_250

iTrader: (2)

I had a few hours to kill and decided that id install a subwoofer and amp in my IS today. For those with weak mechanical ability or dont like tearing apart a brand new car you'll be better off paying a professional. If you have done this before its pretty straighforward. To install the power cable it is much easier to remove the battery. Trust me, remove the battery. I kept getting my fingers pinched in the hood support springs and it really pissed me off. There is a grommet on the firewall next to the battery. Using a flexible metal rod i snaked the cable into the the interior and ran it underneath the carpet. At this time i also ran a remote wire from the fuse box.





To send audio signal to the amp i decided to disconnect the stock sub and feed the output into my amp. Luckly for me the amp i used accepts a line level signal, basically i can use the signal from the stock radio without using RCA inputs. Sounds easy enough, but getting to the stock sub is a real PITA. the rear seats must be removed to access the sub. The bottom cushion is held on by clips, just pull up and slide it out. The seat backs has (8) 12mm bolts that need to be removed. Once the bolts are removed, its probably best to have another person help one on each side and slide the seat back up and out.



I decided not to remove the rear deck completely and just pop a few of the clips to disconnect the subwoofer harness. I slid the harness out one of the holes to tap the wires for the audio signal. I used the pink wire (+) and light blue wire (-).



Heres the finished product. Not exactly the best high end stuff, but something to add that extra bottom end that i thought was missing. Honestly I think 1 12" sub is too much, but I had this JL audio 12" and Alpine V12 amp laying around. I plan on using a smaller box with a 10" sub. If I ever find the time i plan on replacing all the speakers and using the JL Audio Cleansweep and a 5 channel amp, but this will do for now. Sorry about the long post. Hopefully this helps anyone thinking about installing a sub in their IS.

teracon

Did you keep the factory head unit? Also, how is the sound? I have a JL Audio 300/4 and wanted to add a sub but did not wish to change out the HU. I was told that if I kept the stock system and add the sub, it would cancel out the rear speaker components.

Thanks....

gsrthomas

iTrader: (1)

wow props to you. I installed my own stereo on my Acura Integra a year ago. comps, rear, sub, 2 amps, etc. After everything was apart, front door panels, rear panel, etc My car looked like a disaster!!

I dont think I would be able to do this on a BRAND NEW car.

wthai

freakin awesome! I'll have to tag this thread for future reference.

IS_250

iTrader: (2)

Yes, I retained the factory head unit. At this point, as much as i would like to use an aftermarket HU i would hate to lose the display below the climate controls and clutter the dash with an aftermarket HU. Thats why i mentioned the JL audio Cleansweep. It bascially flattens out the EQ curve since most factory systems are EQ'd with emphasis on the lower frequencies and high frequencies. Even after playing with gains on the amp and crossover I have the bass set at -5 and i still think its too much bass. As long as you set the gains properly, you should not have a problem drowing out the rear speakers. Besides the rear usually should be used for filling out the sound. You could use the 300/4 but, unless you are planning to run 2 subs or run the front pair of channels to the fronts and bridge 2 ch for a sub than you might want to look into a mono or 2ch bridgeable amp to run a single sub. Also you will need a line output convertor to use the speaker output and convert it to an RCA signal to use that amp.

mikeIS250

Awesome! Thanks a lot for posting this since I would be upgrading to an aftermarket sub after I get my IS 350 sport package in spring/early summer. Somebody had to do it first and I think you are the first one probably to buy him/herself a new IS and install a sub in it. Cool to know hey?

There is also a new website for IS owner/enthusiasts to check out: www.is350forums.com

mofogasm

do you have the ML package or is this the stock Pioneer system?

caymandive

iTrader: (2)

Just curious, but where are the (8) 12mm bolts that need to be removed to get the rear seat backs out?

IS_250

iTrader: (2)

the 8 bolts should be on the bottom of the rear seat back. theres a bracket and the bolts go through it..

Stanzilla

I've been wanting to do that to my car since the day I bought it. I have an eight in JL sub and a JL amp left over from my old car. The only thing I don't like about the factory radio is the sub in the back, it sounds like crap.

Thanks for posint this. I've been trying to figure out how to get to that factory sub for 8 months now

ABC

Damn, thank you!! I have been wanting to do this as well (i have a 10" sub from my old car). And the cleansweep box sounds extremly interesting! Does it work as well as the site says? A little steep in price, but if it works well, then sign me up! I may just have to redo the entire car system (something i wasn't going to do due to the non-standard deck)

Alex350

JL Audio rocks!!! On my auto show Corolla I installed everything from Marathon Bass woofers, to Kicker, to Bazooka, to MTX, etc, etc and the BEST by far is JL audio. Not only that, but if you buy one of their design enclosures, the bass sounds unbelievable.

A friend of mine bought one of JL'S enclosures with one 8" sub and I laughed in his face because I think he paid $220.00 for it and I didn't think it was going to be loud, but to my surprise that thing hit like he had two 15"s in the back. Nice setup!!!

IS250Slvr

Just out of curiosity, has any replaced the factory subwoofer with a mono amp that you can control the amount of bass you want in the factory for. I am looking into possibly hooking up a mono amp from the inputs for the factory subwoofer and putting a better subwoofer in the factory location but having more control on how much bass i want, the factory system sounds great just needs a little more bump , Any suggestions

rebs

Anyone have any updated photos of removing the rear seat? I'm pondering replacing/repairing my subwoofer, and I'm searched out.

Thanks for your time.

thechosun

iTrader: (3)

perhaps not updated, but the 07 removal should be for the 2gen IS

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...t-removal.html

I did this a year or two ago for a different reason but steps are the same.