The easy way to add bass.

[activeGT]

I spent a few bucks in the trunk because it was easy to get to the audio source but wanted some extra sound up front. Originally I just swapped out the speakers in the doors but it was lacking volume and bass in the door subs. The midrange speakers were perfect. . Then the idea came to me to add 2 small amps, one in each door. These little Alpine amps are putting out 90w @ 1 ohm and the Kickers are 1 ohm. I sound deadend the door and got exactly what I wanted. There is an easy pull for the power as well. Snip a couple a wires and you get great sound easily and cost effectively.

Just an FYI I ordered one of the Kicker Mini amps that I will install next week. The Crutchfield tech suggested a little more power but I am happy for now. Let you know if it is worth the extra $$.

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[scottycameron]

I spent a few bucks in the trunk because it was easy to get to the audio source but wanted some extra sound up front. Originally I just swapped out the speakers in the doors but it was lacking volume and bass in the door subs. The midrange speakers were perfect. . Then the idea came to me to add 2 small amps, one in each door. These little Alpine amps are putting out 90w @ 1 ohm and the Kickers are 1 ohm. I sound deadend the door and got exactly what I wanted. There is an easy pull for the power as well. Snip a couple a wires and you get great sound easily and cost effectively.

Just an FYI I ordered one of the Kicker Mini amps that I will install next week. The Crutchfield tech suggested a little more power but I am happy for now. Let you know if it is worth the extra $$.

Nice, maybe you can write up tutorial and add in the parts list...

 

[2slow]

Did you upgrade the a pillar tweeters as well? Is the 3” original equipment or is that aftermarket as well.

Would you be able to list part #’s?

I haven’t done anything with the original equipment on mine, just added a couple of jl 10’s in a sealed box with a 500 watt alpine amp. Low end is covered but would like to clean up the highs.

 

[Jones3jd]

I am also very interested in this. Do these amps plug into the factory harness?

 

[trojannemo]

Man this sounds great. I love the idea of loud music with the top down cruising the highway...and I can't crank the volume on this car without distortion. And no bass to speak off. Definitely need some attention to the audio but I'm not interested in messing with the doors doors panels and electrical anymore. A decade ago I was doing a whole lot of that. Now I'll probably overpay some shop somewhere to do it. Sigh. I would love to see more info on what you did.

 

[activeGT]

To answer a few questions, I added the Kicker 6 3/4" subs:
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_206CWRT671/Kicker-CompRT-43CWRT671.html?tp=111
The Amp I added was the Alpine mono Class D:
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_500KTP190U/Alpine-KTP-190U-Power-Pack.html?tp=115
I did change out the mid-range in the door as well which I left hooked up to the factory amp:
Infinity Reference REF-3032CFX 3-1/2"
And have not yet messed with the tweeters but did disconnect the center dash speaker which without a doubt helped a lot.

Each door was less than an hour including removal and reinstall of the trim panel. I simply took the speaker wires to the existing sub, cut and butt-connected to the Alpine amp inputs. Then added wire and butt-connected to the amp output. The kickers require no terminals or soldering. They have the push-lock terminals. For the power I tapped into the full-time 12volt power shown in the connector in the picture with a 3m Scotchlok and just a ring terminal grounded out to the door. Not rocket science. Hope this helps. AS mentioned I also ordered the Kicker Amp for shitz and grins which I will install just to see the results. It is $50 more than the Alpine and the Alpine seems perfect at this moment.
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_206PXA2001/Kicker-42PXA2001.html?tp=72998

 

[scottycameron]

So about $500 total? Was it worth it in your opinion?

 

[mikes2017gt]

This is excellent, @activeGT ! Thanks for sharing the details with us. Doesn't look like you needed spacers for the woofers either. 99% of every car I've upgraded the door speakers in, required a spacer. Making MDF rings is a PITA and then the door panel isn't flat, so the spacer doesn't sit flat and on and on. So the woofer fits flush and doesn't hit the window or the door frame?

BTW, that sub has dual 1-ohm VCs. So you can either wire it at 2 ohms or .5 ohms. If you're not using one of VCs you will damage the driver over time due to 1 VC not moving. Still, that amp puts out 60 watts @ 2 ohms. More than enough to get that driver moving and the amp runs cooler and pulls less juice as well. *EDIT* nevermind. I see that the driver has both dual 1-ohm and dual 2-ohm options. Was just trying to be helpful, but you obviously know what you're doing.

BTW, I see that the crossover for the amp is non-defeatable (the only thing wrong with this little amp, IMO!). What do you have it set at? The signal you're tapping is already crossed over from the factory amp, so setting the new amp's xover to a higher frequency should mitigate any issues. Question is: What is the factory door sub's xover freq? I don't know.



One side note: While it's true that ClassD amps use a lot less power (much more efficient, technically) than their Class AB or H counterparts, I am a little concerned about tapping for that much power from the door. Normal operation, you should be fine but say with the amp blasting away while lowering/raising the window, you might blow the fuse for that circuit. Obviously, I hope that doesn't happen, but it was a concern that popped into my small brain.

Really great job! Thanks again.

ps
The Kicker is a much nicer amp. Adjustable gain alone makes it better and the enclosure is weather-resistant. Important for a door-mounted amp. Just wish the xover was defeatable! But that might be a limitation of this style of Class D amp. Their FR typically tops out around 120Hz.

 

[LSchicago]

Seems like a nice easy upgrade.

 

[activeGT]

So about $500 total? Was it worth it in your opinion?

Yes and YES! There is enough bass that I had to back down the level to a few ticks above "0". And the amp and Sub seem to be paired correctly. Now the lows are in the music, not in the trunk with the 10" I have there.

 

[activeGT]

The Kicker is a much nicer amp. Adjustable gain alone makes it better and the enclosure is weather-resistant. Important for a door-mounted amp. Just wish the xover was defeatable! But that might be a limitation of this style of Class D amp. Their FR typically tops out around 120Hz.

This is why I ordered it. Both the weather and the adjustability. And you are right about the Alpine. I set one side at 80hz and one at 100hz. I do like the higher setting. The Kicker even drops to 60hz and, as you said, and has a gain control. I only question it's draw, as you mentioned. The Alpine seems to have a little less which is conformed by a 10 amp fuse as well. The Kicker is 15 amp.

 

[mikes2017gt]

What's the ohm rating on the stock door woofer? It's probably not listed on the driver itself. Just curious. I was thinking about trying the Kicker woofs off the stock amp but it's not a good idea. Those Kicker woofs are not very sensitive at all (82db@1w) and you can't run them off the stock amp. Well, you COULD but you'd be mighty unhappy.

 

[UserName]

What's the ohm rating on the stock door woofer? It's probably not listed on the driver itself. Just curious. I was thinking about trying the Kicker woofs off the stock amp but it's not a good idea. Those Kicker woofs are not very sensitive at all (82db@1w) and you can't run them off the stock amp. Well, you COULD but you'd be mighty unhappy.

Just pulled a pair of 4 ohm 25 watt out of my 17 GT premium 9 speaker. The upper mids and tweets were both labeled as 12.5 watts and 2 ohm.

 

[mikes2017gt]

Thanks very much, @UserName Odd how the drivers are not all the same ohm rating. I would guess that's to be able to pull more watts out of the stock amp. If you wouldn't mind, could you take a couple of pics of the stock door woofer? I'm curious to see if it's a crappy paper-cone OEM driver with a tiny magnet or if it's actually decent-looking. I'm wondering if there's anything to be gained from replacing the stock door woof with an aftermarket woof, but not adding another amp.

 

[UserName]

Thanks very much, @UserName Odd how the drivers are not all the same ohm rating. I would guess that's to be able to pull more watts out of the stock amp. If you wouldn't mind, could you take a couple of pics of the stock door woofer? I'm curious to see if it's a crappy paper-cone OEM driver with a tiny magnet or if it's actually decent-looking. I'm wondering if there's anything to be gained from replacing the stock door woof with an aftermarket woof, but not adding another amp.

The tweets and 3.5s would add up to 4 ohms and pull 25 watts together from the amp just like the mid bass driver as they run off of one channel. I will take some snaps tomorrow as soon as I have them in hand. The mid bass driver had a polymer cone with a traditional ferrite magnet.

I wouldn’t personally change them unless you are prepared to power them with a proper amp and deaden the doors. They are kinda matched and tuned for the car. As always, ymmv.

I’m busy this weekend, but do go down to San Antonio somewhat regularly. If you want to meet up sometime I’d be happy to show you my install to give you an idea of what’s possible without drilling more than one extra hole in the car.

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