[Guido S]

Important rule 1. Install the fuse link at the battery as the last step. Not thinking about that cost me 2 fuses and lots of sparks from the top of the combo box.
Rule 2. Make sure the polarity is correct. When doing splices determine positive wires and join then negative.
Rule 3. Make sure the speaker being powered is in phase with the others. While I chose the correct amp to speaker wires I don't know how to tell if the phase is correct. Can anyone help with this part?
Rule 4. Better to spend a little more for a good quality install kit.
Rule 5. Find some good bass tracks and simce the install was a powered sub woofer try it out. Smile hopefully.
Rule 6. The LP filter only does 50-150. So I set it wide open. Why limit such a low range even further. Help needed here.
Rule 7. Figure out what gains are if they are not volume.Help.
Rule 8. Get some e90poster to tell me how to set the HU. I have the HI-FI system in my car with professional radio.
Rule 9. I loved learning by doing the actual install and set up myself.

[RunFlatOut]

Hey Guido thanks for that. Do you find the amp install by itself improves the sound significantly?

[Guido S]

Yeah, I think the bass response has been fantastic since the 2 under seat bass speakers are essentially dead with the factory installed amp. I didn't want to go with the JL600/6 amp because being plug and play I wouldn't learn anything . So I opted for the Alpine self powered subwoofer that will actually fit in the car and look good. Since I heard that our trunks are essentially soundproof finding an in car sub seemed to be a good solution. Here are 2 pics showing the install in the rear arm rest slot and a shot of the include gains adjustment knob I located next to me in the drivers seat. I love hearing some " boom" in the base frequencies and for me it was a great first time learning experience. BTW, it was an Alpine PWE-S8 that I installed.

[RunFlatOut]

Holy crap that is cool. Took me a few seconds to realize what I was looking at. Is that gain for the subwoofer only, or is it an overall amp gain control? The whole gain thing also does my head in, I can understand it as an input gain increasing the signal coming in, but then whenever people write about it I always feel I need to go back to school.

[Guido S]

That gain control is only for the back seat subwoofer. I wish there was some way to control the hi-fi amp in the trunk but there isn't as far as I know. Don't be afraid to do a project just start easy and read a lot beforehand.

[RunFlatOut]

Not trying to kiss your ass or anything but that install is just so clean, so sharp. That's 5 times I come here just to look at this picture of the sub through the ski hole. I'm already thinking that's the way to do it. Except I have a cream beige Dakota DirtMagnet™ EasyMark™ NeverMatch (patent pending) interior. Mind you I moan like a spoilt brat but I love the stuff, beige more or less doubles the interior size in terms of perception. Plus I've done the trim in brushed black so maybe it wouldn't clash too much. That's another topic though.

In my previous car I installed a pioneer powered sub, the flat one that doesn't take much room, and it worked a treat to give some body to the sound. It lay flat in the trunk pumping et air towards the side. The car was a Ford Focus hatchback (eu) and so not all the sound was coming through, but it still made a big difference in sound quality.

Ho man I'm sorry but I got to ask, feel free to tell me to go RTFM at any point.

- how does the sub hold in place, did you fix some kind of enclosure on the back of the seats? Or does it actually sit somewhere in the seat padding?
- guessing you tapped into the battery positive terminal in the right side of the trunk for power?
- for sound input to the sub, did you split the output wires coming of the amp in the left of the trunk? Never actually looked at those in person so not sure what even comes out of there.

[Guido S]

I have the sub held in place by a bugee cord. If you feel above where it's mounted there is a metal support piece that I ran the cord through and then screwed in the ends to the woofer brackets. The bungee held the weight from the bottom brackets. For the top I used some speaker wire to pull it back and down. It is anchored in the trunk right up against the back seat. If you feel down in the groove back there you will find a hidden bracket you can tie into. Yes on the red to battery and here is a pic of the wires I tapped...the amp out subwoffer wires.
Hope that helps.

[maxoutput]

Easy way to check the phase of the speakers, grab a 1.5v AA cell battery. Connect the speaker wires to each pole. If the speaker cone rises the phase is correct and the cable wires can be identified by the pole of the battery. If the cone drops the wires are out of phase at the battery poles.

[Guido S]

Thanks Maxoutput I'll give your test a try.

[NoLimitBimmer]

Got a picture of the LOC installed? Trying to do mines at the moment and wanted to make sure its right before i get started.

[Guido S]

I didn't need a LOC because the powered amplifier I installed has speaker level inputs. Going out from factory amp I tapped the left and right subwoofer wires. Basically, the LOC is built into the amp. If the amp didn't have speaker level inputs, I would need a LOC. That's my understanding and it seems to be working well for me.