Underseat Hybrid 8" Subwoofer install

The stock XLT stereo definitely needed a little extra bass. Decided I wanted to go the DIY route and build my own box and wire everything up myself. I read through quite a few of the threads on here and was worried if tapping into the rear speakers was gonna be worth it (Spoilers: it was). I figured if it didn't work and the Forscan edit (which I haven't done yet) wouldn't help then I would go the extra length to tap the front speakers.

Blah, blah, blah, on to the details and photos.

CT Sounds 8" Tropo Sub
CT Sounds 400.1D Amp
CT Sounds CT-LC2 Line out converter
5/8" MDF plywood, random install kit, 12ga speaker wire


Truck bed made a great work space.

Made some CAD files (Corrugated assisted design, ran out of cardboard)

Just went for it, cutting piece by piece and test fitting. Started with a 10" shallow mount but swapped over to the 8".


Got rid of the panel on top to recess the sub a bit.


3D printed a plaque with my "Sub"way logo. Pretty happy with the first attempt at carpeting a box.
Still need to run some wire wrap to clean up with wires in the back. Mounted the amp on a carpeted piece of MDF.


Mounted the line out converter on a carpeted MDF piece as well. A little wire management and wrap needed back here as well. Wanted to test it all out a bit before wrapping it up.

I have to say for under $300 I am very happy with the results. Got a nice bass boost to the stock stereo. Get a nice butt and back massage while we drive around. I am by no means an audiophile but I think using the rear speakers sounds pretty good for an average joe. I wasn't looking at competing in sound competitions, just making my hour drive more enjoyable.

Enjoy.

Man that looks deeeeeeeep

Wow nice work. CLEAN

RickGunz said:

Made some CAD files (Corrugated assisted design, ran out of cardboard)

Click to expand...

This made me laugh. Great work, it looks super clean! Why did you end up going with an 8 inch?

Kofad said:

This made me laugh. Great work, it looks super clean! Why did you end up going with an 8 inch?

Click to expand...

I had a shallow depth 10" sub I was going to start with but after I built the box it felt was too big. It was going to be a tight fit. I really like the way the 8" fits and sounds.

I throw the 10" in my kids truck. They both want a sub now.

$300
OUTSTANDING !

Nice analog CAD mockup

I've got an older Alpine PDX-5 I've been wanting to do an install with but trying to figure out what works in the driver's only box volume.

I would of used the 10 & gave the 8 to the kid.. A 10-in will fit, hell if you got crazy enough you could probably get a 12 in there.

Probably had enough room on the rear wall to mount both your lock and your amp on a sheet of plastic or MDF.

Outstanding job. And for 300$ ? So far one of the best low budget set up I seen here.

Toddman45 said:

I would of used the 10 & gave the 8 to the kid.. A 10-in will fit, hell if you got crazy enough you could probably get a 12 in there.

Probably had enough room on the rear wall to mount both your lock and your amp on a sheet of plastic or MDF.

Click to expand...

I have plans for other stuff I want to mount on the rear wall. Needed to keep that space open.

RickGunz said:

I have plans for other stuff I want to mount on the rear wall. Needed to keep that space open.

Click to expand...

Yep and as you know I'm sure replacing the dash tweeters door speakers and rear pillar speakers are a huge improvement over stock as well.

Nice job!
I picked up a 10" Polk sub and a small Taramps Bass 400 amp to do something similar. Where and how did you tap the rear speakers?

Pol said:

Nice job!
I picked up a 10" Polk sub and a small Taramps Bass 400 amp to do something similar. Where and how did you tap the rear speakers?

Click to expand...

It's best to tap the fronts at the ACM connection behind the HVAC controls, as they already have a full range signal without messing with Forscan. If you still want to tap the rear speakers you can tap them under the rear sill covers or directly at the speaker connection in the rear pillars.

If you do tap the rears make sure to use Forscan and change the EQ setting in the ACM too Flat, otherwise you'll be missing out on low frequencies to the sub.

Toddman45 said:

It's best to tap the fronts at the ACM connection behind the HVAC controls, as they already have a full range signal without messing with Forscan. If you still want to tap the rear speakers you can tap them under the rear sill covers or directly at the speaker connection in the rear pillars.

If you do tap the rears make sure to use Forscan and change the EQ setting in the ACM too Flat, otherwise you'll be missing out on low frequencies to the sub.

Click to expand...

What he said. I tapped the rear speakers (for now, wanted to try it out. Will try the Forscan edit soon as well). May later tap the front speakers. I want to know first hand the differences it all makes.

I tapped them right under the trim covering the rear sills. There is a small white flap that covers the wire. I used Posi-taps to make my connection.

RickGunz said:

What he said. I tapped the rear speakers (for now, wanted to try it out. Will try the Forscan edit soon as well). May later tap the front speakers. I want to know first hand the differences it all makes.

I tapped them right under the trim covering the rear sills. There is a small white flap that covers the wire. I used Posi-taps to make my connection.

Click to expand...

The biggest difference when tapping the rears you'll notice if you like to keep your music faded more towards the front like I do you'll lose bass output from the subwoofer the further forward you go.

Whereas if you tap the front speaker signal you won't have to mess with four scan to get full base response and also if you fade more to the front you you won't lose any output from your sub as if you tap the rear speakers. In my opinion the rear speakers are more overpowering as they sit right at your level so I keep it 75% faded to the front.

While not losing any bass output as I tapped the front speakers as well as the rears.