Music is lovely, isn’t it? And if you’re a driver who likes it, you’ll go to any length to equip your car with a subwoofer. But what’s a subwoofer? A subwoofer is a type of speaker that’s fundamentally designed to produce bass, which is the lowest frequency sound.
You can either install a 15-inch subwoofer, a 12-inch subwoofer, an 8-inch subwoofer or a 10-inch subwoofer depending on your needs and budget. You can also choose to integrate two subwoofers to create an amazing sound experience. Most subwoofer brands also offer Shallow Mount Subwoofers, which are such a snap to install.
Installing Powered Car Subwoofers will make you enjoy your music every time you drive. But if you’re to enjoy the best out of your subwoofer, the appropriate installation would be important. So, how do you Install a Car Speaker and amplifier in your vehicle? Below is a step-by-step procedure on how to install the best car subwoofer in your car.
Here is a Step-by-Step Procedure on How to Install The Subwoofer in Your Car
- Step 1: Gather All the Parts You NeedHere are the tools you need to install a subwoofer in your car.
- a. under seat subwoofer
- b. Subwoofer box
- c. 3-foot insulated wire (10 Gauge or thicker) for ground
- d. Amplifier
- e. 20-foot insulated wire (10 Gauge or thicker) for power
- f. 16 or 18 Gauge, 15-foot wire
- g. 15 feet or longer RCA cables (2 or one with both white and red)
- h. Speaker wire
- i. Basic tools
- j. 4 small wood screws
- k. 50 amps or higher, in-line fuse
- Step 2: Choose a Speaker and an AmpChoose the Best Car Speakers and amplifier with the highest power output, without blowing each other. Your intention here is to have the RMS of both the amplifier and the subwoofer speaker to be as close as possible.
- What is RMS? It is the power amount, which a speaker can constantly send to the amplifier without getting destroyed. It is also the amount of power that the amplifier can put out continuously without overheating.
- As you choose the appropriate car amplifier and speaker to use, ignore the peak power. Either of the two can only be run on the peak power for approximately a minute before going bad or overheating. Rather than the peak rating, run your subwoofer on its RMS rating. You should also keep the impedance (Ohms) the same, for best sound.
- Taking Kenwood KFC-W3011 for instance, its ratings are:
- I. 1200w Peak
- II. 4 Ohm Impedance
- III. 400w RMS
- Assuming the speaker with the ratings above is the only one attached to the amplifier, the amplifier that would match it might be the Rockford P400-2.
- Choice of the right size of the speaker is also important. Smaller 8 and 10 inch speakers punch better and respond quicker than bigger ones, though they aren’t very loud.
- Bigger speakers such as 15+ inches are louder than the smaller ones. Additionally, they have higher wattage. However, they respond slowly and the sound they produce is mushy.
- Handling lower frequencies better is another advantage of bigger speakers. For a basic system, 12 inch speakers are always a good suit. Ensure you build a subwoofer box with a hole of the same size as your subwoofer speaker.
- Step 3: Run the Wires Begin with wiring the power from the battery. Make sure that you have a Good Quality Car Battery before doing this. It is preferable to draw power from the battery than the fuse box.
- This is because of the “unclean” nature of power from the fuse box, which can yield amplified noise on your engine through your speakers. It is also easy to blow a fuse using the little ones in the fuse box.
- Find an opening in the car’s firewall; the metal wall under the car’s hood, next to the windshield. The other side of the wall ought to be inside of the car.
- Through the hole in the firewall, run the majority of the power cables. Make sure you leave enough wire to reach the battery.
- Remove the insulation off the wire at the end leading to the battery. Wire the in-line fuse to the peeled end (if not part of the wire yet). The fuse should be as close to the battery as possible. Don’t connect the wire to the battery yet. Ensure you tape the spot where you put the fuse, not to get short.
- Run the remaining wire through a wire channel or under the car’s carpeting. This is to get the wire to the trunk of the car. With the carpeting lose, run the RCA cables and the 16-18 gauge wire from the trunk next to the back of your stereo head unit. At both ends, leave a little slack.
- Step 4: Wire a subwooferTake the stereo head unit out. As required, you either slide the stereo out of special clips using a tool or remove the front of the center console. On having your stereo out, look at its back. 2 RCA connections should be available.
- By running the RCA cables through the center console’s back, plug them into the 2 RCA connections. Should your stereo not have these connections, join together the wires into the back speaker wires. You may alternatively consider buying a new stereo with RCA. They are affordable nowadays.
- Step 5: Wire the RemoteThrough the back of the center console, run the 16-18 gauge wire. This wire will signal to the amp that the stereo is on. The amp will turn on too.
- Among the wires coming out of the back of the head unit, 1 or 2 are blue. These are remote wires. If labeled this is what you’ll read.
- I. Amp
- II. Amplifier
- III. Rem
- IV. Remote
- V. Pwr. Ant.
- VI. Power Antenna
- VII. Antenna
- You may get anything else similar to one of the above. If the blue wires are two, one should be labeled Amp. If only one, you can use that. Should you have a power antenna, you’ll have to fix together with the blue wire for use with the amp too.
- Connect the 16-18 gauge wire to the blue one. The stereo and the amp will turn on. Should it be a stereo on a car lacking blue wire and a power antenna, connect the 16-18 gauge cable into the fuse box and attach it to a fuse that goes on when the accessories are on?
- When your car is on, your amp will at all times be on. However, it shouldn’t make noise. Should it make noise, attach a switch to turn it on or off.
- Step 6: Attach the Speaker to the BoxAttach the speaker to the box ensuring the delicate thin gasket is on it. Should the box have its own connectors on the outside, ensure they are connected to the speaker inside.
- Screw your speaker into the box using the holes on your speaker’s rim. Set your subwoofer in the trunk of your car.
- Step 7: Wire up the AmpThe power cable from the battery should be connected to the amp through spots with any of the following markings:
- I. Batt.
- II. B+
- III. 12v
- IV. Pos.
- V. +12v
- VI. Power
- VII. Pwr.
- Do not connect the power cable to the speaker positive. Connect the 16-18 gauge wire into spots marked:
- I. Remote
- II. Rem
- III. Ant.
- Connect the other end of your ground wire to a closed bolt which connects to the car’s body. Connect your speaker wire to the – and + marked for speakers on the amplifier.
- Should there be two channels, bridge your amp if you can. Connect the other end of the speaker cable to the -and + on the speaker box. Ensure that the + from your amp is connected to the + on your speaker, a similar thing with them -.
- Step 8: Add PowerFinally, connect the power cable to your battery. As you do this, ensure that a large fuse is in your fuse holder.
Conclusion
It feels great listening to music coming from a powerful subwoofer. Choice of the best car subwoofer will depend on how well you observe the speaker ratings as described above. Most importantly, ensure you have appropriate knowledge on how to install your subwoofer. This will hand you the best audio experience as you drive. You can read more on What Speakers Can Fit My Car, from our other guide.
