Whitmanpc1

Hey everyone! I'm a frequent 'lurker' and not much of a poster, but know someone has run into this:

Has anyone purchased a 10" subwoofer to replace the factory subwoofer (I have the Nak. radio, 1993 SC400), but found the factory hole wasn't big enough?

I purchased a Sony 10" subwoofer; the speaker size is identical to OEM but the diameter of what's behind the speaker is bigger (the metal "frame" holding the speaker and the magnet).

So my options/questions:

1)
I can cut the hole bigger...I think. (anyone tried a Dremel w/ reinfored cutting wheel?)...that metal looks like solid steel.

2)
Can this speaker be stashed in the rear, essentially underneath(and to the right or left of the big hump in there)?

There would be a big hole where the speaker should go (covered by the speaker grille, so it looks fine from inside).

Anyone shed light and give a lesson on sound quality/soundwaves? Can't bass be anywhere?


Thanks much!

Jeff

rhart00

making the hole bigger isn't going to do you any good if the magnet is hitting the gas tank. I would suggest fabricating a custom enclosure behind one of the wheel wells or in the spare tire well. Bass travels well through seats, etc and also reflects well off windows, etc. so sound quality won't be dimished moving it into the trunk. It will most likely sound better in a box in the trunk than as a freeair sub mounted on the rear deck

strongsail

Whitmanpc1, I have done exactly that - replaced the sub in my '93 SC4 with the Nak system - I used a 10inch Pioneer free-air sub, it needs to be free air unless you figure out a way to build an enclosure up there under the deck above the gas tank (I didn't) - model number of the Pioneer freeair sub is TS-W254F. I bought it online for about $50.

As you have discovered, the thick ring around the edge of the oem sub includes the mounting points and the brackets which the grille cover snap into. I decided to keep the outer ring, and used a die grinder (air-powered dremel) with a cutoff wheel to cut up the old speaker - I cut the four basket supports that go between the ring and the magnet, cut out the cone surround, and junked everything except the outer ring.

I pried the gasket and screen off the metal outer frame (carefully - I re-used the gasket, but not the plastic ring and screen) and dropped the new Pioneer into the frame from the top. I had to do a little more grinding on the inside of the ring so the new sub would fit flush. Then I solvent-cleaned (use acetone or isopropyl alcohol) the contact points where back of the new sub and the inside of the old sub's ring touched, and *glued the new sub to the old ring with silicone* - trust me, it worked great - and then stuck the old gasket to the plastic surround on the new sub, and dropped the new assembly into the deck hole, and used the original bolts to fasten it down, and the grille clips right on - just like oem! And the magnet of the new speaker clears the electrical connections on the top of the gastank by *1/4 inch*.

Then I found the sub section of the Nak amp just didn't have enough whoopee to drive the new sub, so I installed an Xtant amp with 200w of bridged mono output (nice unit, 5 input sensitivity settings) and used the speaker-level outputs from the Nak to drive the new amp, so its signal is already lowpass -

and Wow does it make a difference! Too much bass at first - but I have tweaked the output gain on the amp and now it sounds sweeeeet -

Now I gotta replace the front door speakers - have a pair of Bostons kickin' around that will fit after I do a little creative whittling - but so far, so good.

Hope this train-of-consciousness post helps at least a little - if you find any of it bewildering, let me know -



(edit) I am assuming you have had your rear deck trim out and have looked at the old sub from the back seat - or have you just looked at it from the trunk? If you haven't looked at it from inside the car, nothing I said above will make any sense - oh well)

(edit) Also, the new amp required a 4gauge hot lead from the battery, fuseholder, new ground pulled from the body in the trunk, etc. etc. - nothing is ever simple, at least by the time I get through with it - -

Whitmanpc1

That makes perfect sense to me.

One other thing: Since I've had the back speaker covers off and my subwoofer removed, I hear a high-pitched sound that seems to correspond to how much I'm pushing down on the gas pedal.

It's when I am at a specific, light pressure. I don't hear it when I slightly back off or push down slightly more.

I guess we're used to NO sound in our Lexus vehicles. If I make a box for my subwoofer and put it in the trunk, I fear that I will hear this high pitched sound (since there will be no speaker in the factory place.

Is it true that the sound will go right through the back seats? If so, I'm going to try to plug up that hole, which will hopefully hide that noise.

Thanks!

rushgator

That sounds like electronic interference. I do not have my sub in the factory space, I just left it open to let the sound in from my trunk mounted 10" bazooka. I have not noticed any extra noise coming from the back because my sub is not in the rear deck mount. When I first bought my SC the amp whistled badly. I solved this by replacing the amp and head unit and rewiring the system. Of course I was already planning to replace everything anyway, so it was no big deal.

DIrEctQL

This should be helpful:

http://www.onmonitor.net/directql/gallery/padding/

Ask away.

pcmw

Whitmanpc1.


That may be the fuel pump. Is it coming from the gas tank or from the other speakers?

MW

NRG

i had mines turned into dual 10 in subs
it has pioneer IMPS spl subs..

DIrEctQL

Wow, very nice. It's a little too much for me, but it's a good idea. I just wanted extra base so I replaced me stock sub with something that has more boom.

Chris

TGRich

Some advice for you....
Go with a JL Audio 10ib4
This is a free air sub. Many people use this in place of the stock sub. It will not hit the gas tank. I just got mine in from special order and is being installed hopefully this weekend.
If you want one and can't find a dealer, let me know and I'll hook you up.

I currently have an Infinity Kappa Perfect 10" in the back with 150 watts going to it. I'm not to happy with the sound through the seats and all. There's a lot of sound dampening stuff back there.

Tim

DIrEctQL

Any "free-air" sub will do and most of them will clear the gas tank if you lift it up by an inch. I went Pioneer and I had a Rockford Fostgate amp. The Pioneer sub was around 60 bucks and it's wonderful. Well tuned works perfectly.

Chris

NRG

yea, only use Free-Air subs..
im trying to find some JL Audio W6v2 free-air subs, im not sure if it would clear the gas tank tho.. these subs are huge.. about 300-400 bucks each, im trying to find a hooked up deal for them..
i need 2 10" subs..
my pionner subs are going to die soon
my amps are way too strong..
check out my amps, these puppys are nice

Loonatic

Whoa Man. Those amps are extremely pimp!
My dads friend has a entire sound room in his house filled with old McIntosh tube amplifiers.
Are your amps tube technolgy or digital.
Anyway, i know they are beef but you are doing them wrong by letting them get all beat up . Why not get some lexan and use some hardware to mount a shield off of the amps a little so that they can still breath but still be protected behind the Lexan.

Kudos to you for buying quality ampilfiers my man!

Vegassc400

I had a Pheonix Gold 10" sub and had the shop make a hand formed ported box out of fiberglass. The box filled the area above the gas tank. it ran around $220 but it was worth it. They put in a 1/2" spacer to give the speaker a little clearance.

ARRRRGGHHHH!!!! I miss my car

lexus_sc400_n20

That high pitched sound is coming from your alternator, and the sterio amplifies it. It is known as a ground loop. You can get a ground loop isolator at radio shack