Help Choosing Sub & Fitting

[6Tricksta9]

Hey all,

Im at work so cant give specific details but I will try..

Im running a Kenwood Head Unit which pumps out a laughable 45w to my front Alpine speakers (capable of 180w) and stock rear speakers. The sound is very clean & crisp but often it will struggle on low-frequency bass songs. So I want a sub.

Now Im not after an AMAZING sound system, just something which can pump a bit of bass out so I can actualy feel it!

My question to you is..

What exactly do I need to run the sub?

Do I need an amp other than my HU to run the sub?
(I assume If I dont the sub will only run at my HU Wattage)

Can you reccommend any Subs for under £70?

Will the sub kill my battery when stationary?

As I know next to nothing, should I get someone else to fit it, if so what sort of price should I be paying?

Im trying to keep to a very tight budget as Im really not botherd about how many watts im pumping out, i just want the car to shake a bit!

Im a complete newbie when it comes to ICE, literally I have'nt a clue!!

Any help would be much apprecio!

:drink:

[VTR_Steve]

To run the sub you will need: sub, amp, power cable with in line fuse, remote lead, ground cable, speaker wire and rca leads.

Yes you will need an amp to run the sub.

Search ebay and friday ad for second hand sub.

The sub will only kill the battery if you listen to your music whilst the engine is switched off.

There are loads of guides on here to install your ice, imo the hardest is getting the power cable from the engine bay to inside the car, i found it easy run it through the front wing, above splash panel (you will be able to move this and pull wire through) and in through the grommet where the wires go to the door. The carpet is held in by these spike thingys that clip onto metal ridge and clamp carpet down, give it a yank out and you will see, they can be taken off with pliers and clamp carpet back down afterwards, run all your cables down the sides of the car like this, and ground under back seats.

IMO it is a waste of money to pay someone to do it, im sure there is someone on here that lives near you and would give you a hand. Plus if you dont have a go you will never learn.

Hope this help :y:

[6Tricksta9]

Nice one! This is exactly what I needed to hear!

I just spoke to my mate and hes selling me an Amp & Sub for £100, cant remember the make & model but it seems very nice for the money.

Im assuming that the sub will only run at the MAX wattage of the amp, yes?

I'll definatly give installing it myself a go, headunit and speakers was a piece of piss so im sure this wont be too difficult with the info you've given me. :)

Cheers! :y:

[VTR_Steve]

Alot of people say to run it through the power lead through the grommet in the passenger foot well but imo above the splash panel is alot easier!

Good news then, atleast you know what it sounds like before you buy it aswell.

yer the sub wont be able to run any more than what you give it. Bridge the connection to get more from the amp, or if you want any more than 45 watts going to the speakers, run your speaker from the amp aswell, you wont get a HU that will supply alot more than that without an amp

You should be fine, any probs drop a note on the forum :y:
Good luck:D

[Jamb0]

Make sure your headunit has pre-outs to run an external amplifier, hard wiring is a bitch !

[6Tricksta9]

My headunit is a Kenwood KDC-W313GY

It says on the box I have 1x RCA-Preout (sub-wf levelcontrol). Is this ok? Suggests to me I can plug the sub directly into the headunit.. But only run it at the HU max 50watts..

Collecting the Sub & Amp in 20 Minutes, fast reply would be mucho apprecio lol!

[Jamb0]

yeh u cna plug one in then mate

and no it wont run at 50w

it will run at whatever the amplifier is running at

50w is the power your 4 speakers will have, 2 front and 2 rears, 50w x4 so 50w for each speaker, the rca outputs are a different level so they could run up to anything, like 8000w if need be lol, and you can run your speakers off the external amp too but thats a little more complicated.

ps you keep mentioning about adding just a subwoofer, you cant add just a passive subwoofer, it wont work, you will need an amp and a passive subwoofer, or an active enclosure.

also check the back of the headunit, make sure it has a wire not connected to anything other than headunit, labeled remote! this wire tells the sub to turn on when the headunit is turned on.! :)

[Jamb0]

just check the manual online for that headunit, it does have the remote wire, its blue and white.

so it should be a case of plug and play, try it works first, then hide your wires! :D

[6Tricksta9]

Right got the sub & amp, turned out to be a pretty sweet deal! 600w Amp & Infinity Sub with custom box for £80. Buying cables later today then giving it a bash :)

Cheers for all the info & help!

[TomT]

Howd u get on? :)

[6Tricksta9]

I failed to get the cables lol, ordered them from Unique in Lightwater so might just get them to do the entire installation as it would no doubt take them an hour instead of me taking a whole day!

[saxo_furio17]

where about do you live in camberly becuase i'll give you a hand puttin it in since i only live in staines? and i've put a sub in mine and my mates car so getting the hang of it now

[VTR_Steve]

Tricksta, you have gotta do it yourself m8! Much better when you know you have done the job yourself :y: