SpeakeyD's stealth sub install... finally written up after 18 months.

I wanted a bit more breadth to the sound from my fairly decent stereo and speakers (Kenwood HU and infinity component speakers), but did not want a sub or additional amp in the boot. A powered slim underseat sub was the answer, and this one seemed to fit the bill.

Kenwood KSC-SW01

Pretty easy to install.

1. Had to cut a hole in the carpet otherwise the limited space under the passenger seat meant it would catch on the sub grille when moved back and forth.



2. Wired up with a decent enough amp wiring kit from Halfords - 15 quid or so. Power from the battery dropping through the top corner of the engine bay into the passenger footwell. Eventually all wires running under the carpet and along the sill to the dash. (Don't forget to ground - mine also taken back up into the footwell.)



3. Problem: The sub will not work without its wired remote (not used to power on - that is controlled by the HU) which does nothing but change the level of the bass, and look messy. The last thing I wanted was to have a wired remote velcroed to the dash or the centre console.


4. Solution: Decided to put it here:



See it? Ok then, a bit closer:



A fairly neat use of the otherwise unused plate on the left of the map light. Also gives off a subtle blue glow from the white ring when powered on (as seen in the product picture at the link above).

Steps taken for this bit:

1. Drilled a hole in the map light to match the one on the other side


2. Removed the important bits from the remote's plastic casing


3. Cut out some interior plastic so that the PCB would sit inside in the correct position
3. Padded out the back of the drilled hole with rubber washers, and glued on a couple of mount points to line up with where the PCB was originally held by screws into its plastic housing.


4. Put it all together, and ran the (fortunately pretty long) wire along the top roof lining, down inside the A pillar lining, through footwell, along sill under the carpet...

All that remains to do is print a small Min - Max sticker.

Nice install

Tempted to move my door speaker amp from under the passenger seat to another position and do the same as you. Do you have a separate amp in the boot for the door speakers?

is it me or are the photo's not loading?

They were loading for me at home or on the phone, but not at work, I guess dropbox is blocked

Correct - Dropbox. On a public link so should load ok.

No, just a standard head unit driving the speakers. Feeds the sub with a standard phono pair, plus the trigger to switch on the power.

aha yes now i see them. fantastic install, and what a small sub that is. damm i read the thread without the pic's from work but never thought it would turn out that small? do you even notice the diff? i mean i use to have 2 huge subs back in my 20's on my back seat of my vw3 convertible that made massive bass. now i am looking like yourself for a bass that adds a bit to the music not controls and overwhelms it.
got my speakers hooked up to a amp in the boot, and got a second amp ready for a sub. interesting this is.

Yes, you can hear the difference. And I don't have the volume (of the sub) past about a quarter of maximum. It's not there to shake the chassis, it's to make the overall sound fuller and warmer, which it does a great job of.

I also wanted a little more bass, without needing to blow the windows out.

After a lot of research, I ended up with a slimline Pioneer sub in the boot - doesn't take up much room (and is very easily removed for the rare occasions when the full boot depth is required.



Sound is pretty good too - 200W is just about enough to give some depth (and to remove the need for the main speakers to have to deliver the bass)

I really like the OP's controller location though - very neat

The Blaupunkt under seat sub fits too, but sticks out a bit:

http://www.fiatcoupeclub.org/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1492557

I like the Kenwood install too though, very neat.

thanks for the info guy's. since I already have a amp for the speakers in the boot, for the moment is laying down like the sub from Nigel but I will in the future fix it to the back of the seats, sitting as low as possible so I loose as less as possible space In the boot when putting the grocery bags in the boot.
Just one thought, with the seat placed normaly how 'easy'/'difficult' is it to hit the sub with your feet? I am just thinking about my 5 year old crawling in and out of the car.

There is also enough room for most of these active subs in the bigger cubby hole in the boot.