RCSB sub install
 

Just finished a sub install and thought I would make a little write up on what I did. My truck didn't come with an upgraded stereo system so its bottom end was pretty much non-existent so I decided to install a sub. With a regular cab truck this is tough because you cant just buy a sub and throw it in the trunk like you can with a car. I wanted to use the factory radio still and not sacrifice any leg room, basically not having to have the seat all the way forward.

Ended up settling on a Kenwood eXcelon shallow mount 12" sub. Has a mounting depth of just under 4" so it was perfect. Also seemed to have a little better response and hit lower hz than comparable shallow subs.

Mated that with a MTX Thunder 2150x amp pushing 300w RMS bridged @ 4ohm 12.5vdc. Nice clean class A power, didn't want anything earth-shattering but still wanted some nice quality stuff. MTX always has good stuff.

I took the jack and tire irons out from behind the passenger seat. The bolts were still sticking up that couldn't be removed so I decided to re-use them for mounting the box. I basically custom made the box piece by piece, mocking them up in the truck in between each step.

Box ended up being just under 5" at the top so it doesnt take up much space at all. The front of the box I made larger to go all the way down to the floor and matches the concave for a nice clean fit. Added a bracket on the left side out of strap iron to go on the bolt that originally held the tire irons. I added some poly fill since it was a little smaller than the minimum recommended .8 cu ft the sub needed.

There was a large area to the lower-right of the speaker that looked plain so I added a Chevy logo in 1/4" pieces of particle board that I cut out. It was a nice subtle way to add something to even out the appearance with out being 'too much.' The carpet laid over it pretty well, just used a screwdriver to work it down and stretch it over the wood and it ended up working quite well.

For the amp I mounted it under the passenger seat, and tapped into the speaker wires for the rear speakers in the B-Pillar. I normally dont like using speaker-lever inputs but since I wanted to leave the head unit stock it was my only option. It works well, just dont have level control but I can live with that I guess. Ran all the wiring under the carpet so it wont catch on anything and looks nice and clean. Tapped into the fuse panel for a switched power lead because of the lack of 'turn on' lead on the factory stereo.

My goal was to add as much bass as I could without using all my space behind the seats. I only used 1 12" so I still have room behind the driver seat and behind the center console. Also the passenger seat can go essentially all the way back like stock. All wires are hidden and amp lays nice and flat under the seat. I would say it met all expectations I had as opposed to finding something already made that prolly wouldnt as good as this does. Not to mention this way was much cheaper, just took a whole day to get it done. And actually it hits pretty hard and really clean. Im glad I went with a 12 instead of a 10, its definitely way louder than I expected, it will give you a headache if you take a long trip with it cranked up. Overall VERY satisfied with the install in all aspects.

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/m...0install/1.jpg
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http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/m...0install/3.jpg
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http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/m...install/10.jpg
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Very clean job, looks like mine except I have 2 10' subs behind the seats!! :) Although your craftmanship is better! :nod:

thumbs up! Nice custom work. I like the bowtie as well. I've had subs in my last two reg cabs so I know it's a pain to put nice sound in without sacrificing anything else.

Nice work. I like the chevy embosed in the box. You can pickup a line level controller that will use your high level imputs and convert them to low level imputs with a gain controller built in for 15-20 bux on most car audio websites. It may be what your looking for to have better control of your amp and stock stereo.

clean man, nice

wow, very clean install! just curious why not give the box more lean so it contours to the seat a little better? unless your passenger seat sits more upright... Im not G leanin or anything stupid but the pictures could just be not doing it justice for me.

At any rate looks good. Mind if I ask what you ended up spending? I am wanting to do a sub in my RC as well.

I would have liked to have the face angled a bit more but I was constrained by the top because it couldn't be be any shallower cuz the speaker was already almost resting on the the back of the box. And I could have made the bottom deeper but after a few different mock ups I could get the seat back the farthest this way. Even thought the seat would have to be pretty straight up as you mentioned I figured it might be handy someday if I need to cram 3 people in the front or haul anything if its raining out. Also the speaker allowed the box to be small so I didnt need the extra space thankfully.

As for the price it was very cheap. I bought the speaker new but got the amp used. Ive had several used MTX amps and never had a prob so I figured new wasnt necessary here. The wiring was all 4 ga Rockford stuff I saved from a previous car I sold and I also had the MDF laying around at home so I really only had to buy the amp and sub which saved me quite a bit. I did get a very good deal on the amp, kinda right place at the right time kinda thing, but total I spend prolly around $200 and an afternoon of work building the box and installing everything. Which of course also involved several breaks to grab a fresh beer:chug:

That looks really nice! Great job. I would like to redo mine and that looks like a how I want to do it, just on the driver side. :thumb: