factory sub install question

[timto]

Hi
I have a 300 limited and got a factory 8" sub from a 300c at a wreckers and was wondering if I can just hook it up to the rear left positive and the rear right negitive.Or should I hook it up directly to the radio? I have the base radio that came with the car.

Thanks

[kcrnmale]

One of our members took out the panel in the trunk that sits below the speakers and said all the wiring was in place including the sub wires. Perhaps you can just pop the sub in the hole and connect the wires? Please let me know if the sub wires are actually in place. Thanks.

[Dmog07]

The wires may be there but that is not enough. The stereos that came with the sub had a different amp. This amp had an addition output of 100 watts. Although you may be able to get sound out of the sub, it will not sound correct. Not only will it not have enough power but that signal will be full frequency not approximately 200 hertz and down. At this point you should get an additional amp, just for the sub. It wont need to be high power (100 to 150 watts should do it) IMO.

[timto]

I checked for the sub wire it is not there. But I did cut out the sub wire out of the 300c at the wreckers.

Dmog07,
if I get an additional amp, just for the sub can I just hook it up to the rear left positive and the rear right negitive.Or should I hook it up directly to the radio?

Thanks Guys

[WDWDuncan]

Originally Posted by Dmog07

The wires may be there but that is not enough. The stereos that came with the sub had a different amp. This amp had an addition output of 100 watts. Although you may be able to get sound out of the sub, it will not sound correct. Not only will it not have enough power but that signal will be full frequency not approximately 200 hertz and down. At this point you should get an additional amp, just for the sub. It wont need to be high power (100 to 150 watts should do it) IMO.

I had just removed the plasic sub cover that was resonating in the back at certain low freqs. Noticed that the sub wiring was already there and order the BA 8" from the dealer to pop in myself. Now that it's in I noticed it was not getting the same cone excusion of the 6x9's. I see your answer about the amp not having the power and HF rolloff. Any suggestions about what I can do to mount a separate amp to power the sub but still work with the HU tone and fade controls?

[wesexcellence]

Originally Posted by timto

I checked for the sub wire it is not there. But I did cut out the sub wire out of the 300c at the wreckers.

Dmog07,
if I get an additional amp, just for the sub can I just hook it up to the rear left positive and the rear right negitive.Or should I hook it up directly to the radio?

Thanks Guys

As long as the amp has built-in low frequency crossovers you should be fine.
You will need signal from one of the rear speakers to either a converter or hi-level into the amp. Then of course you need positive/ground and remote turn-on.

[WDWDuncan]

OK, so I went ahead and bought the factory sub thinking that I could just connect it and no worries. Alas, there is no signal (or too weak) to do that job. I had about given up on getting any help from my dealer on the subject. I could not trace the sub wires back to the audio amp upfront, so I just installed a small Pioneer 200W amp to run off a mono signal feed from the L&R rear speakers so it will work with the fade and tone controls. Didn't need to spend any more cash as I was not redoing the whoe rear system - much as I ewsa tempted to in reading these audio threads on the forum.

Sub amp rolls the signal out at 200 cycles and I have the gain way down so that it blends well with the wizzer 6x9’s. Was able to tap the power right off the rear battery and fuse block and mount it on a carpet board to ride on top of the spare under the truck flooring so that there are no wires or amps in the trunk spce at all. Sounds good after setting the right level for the input gain to the amp (about 25% of total gain range). Only thing I can think of is that I might want to install a low by-pass filter across the 2 rear 6x9’s to ease their low end excursion now that I have the sub to do it. That and put some damping sheets under the rear deck if it comes “alive” after a few weeks and start to resonate with the sub kicking now.

I am a little tweaked looking at the hi-end Boston component car speakers that were available in the audio shop as compared to the wizzers I have on my SGII option. Priced out they are about the same, but the separates in the store were of much better quality. Didn’t want to mess with the overall sound balance and blending that the SGII provides, so I’m considering myself lucky and calling it quits with what I have now. Thankfully the whole system still has the nice imaging (even with the center 3.5"), just a little more punch and oomph when needed. I'll let the car turn heads at traffic lights and not booming sounds coming from out of its trunk.

Thanks for the solid advice from everyone in this thread and the others as well As the FAQs on the 300c audio system.