2017 Hatch 8" subwoofer install

[Priceless_Civic]

Has anyone tried swapping out the sub in the hatch sport touring with an aftermarket?

There's basically no hope in replacing the factory sub for an aftermarket that will fit in the same location. I was going to have a custom box built on the other side of the trunk to fit a shallow mount 12" sub but it was going to be quite pricy and big. I decided to just install a ported 12" sub in the back and leave the factory sub alone. Mine doesn't take up the whole truck and can easily be removed if need be. I'd say something similar would save you a lot of time and $$$ while still tremendously improving the overall sound system. Here's a picture of my set up.

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[Synomenon]

If I were looking to replace my hatch Sport Touring's factory sub. I'd want something like these:

Too bad we can't get anyone to manufacture these for the CivicX...

 

[jfmoots]

There is a good amount of space where the spare is. The install is virtually invisible. I keep a pump with fix-a-flat in it. Otherwise, I'll call a tow truck. Those donut tires scare me anyway.

 

[Priceless_Civic]

If I were looking to replace my hatch Sport Touring's factory sub. I'd want something like these:

Too bad we can't get anyone to manufacture these for the CivicX...

I talked to Eric, the guy who built the bottom enclosure, and he said he put a ton of time to build it. He put a photo gallery of the build on his Facebook page and it's clear to see it would cost a lot to have made. I took this picture to an audio shop and they said it would cost over $500 just to build the box. He said that JL Audio may build something similar to that but for a 10" or 8" and it'll likely cost around $1,000.

As bad as I wanted a similar set up, it's hard to justify spending that much money on a custom box and shallow mount sub that may not even sound as good as a regular sub. Honestly it's just as easy to find a regular small enclosure and have only two wires to unplug to get all your trunk space back than to spend a fortune on a box. All that's been said is only my opinion though lol

 

[dastanli]

That's true, I wouldn't want to spend that much on just a box. At the same time I don't like the idea of having to take the sub out just because I need more room. And where the spare tire goes I store all my ammo, guns, and cocaine

 

[Priceless_Civic]

That's true, I wouldn't want to spend that much on just a box. At the same time I don't like the idea of having to take the sub out just because I need more room. And where the spare tire goes I store all my ammo, guns, and cocaine

I realized that I likely won't have to take mine out to haul something inside so that's how I could justify settling for a regular box. If you aren't looking for something to rattle the car apart, I would recommend a compact 8" that can slide under one of the front seats. I helped a buddy install one in his truck and it actually puts out a nice amount of base. Hopefully one day someone will come out with a stealth box that isn't ridiculously priced for our cars!

 

[dastanli]

I been looking at the cerwin vega. Review on it are really good and someone on here has them as well. So I am considering them. Just really wanted to replace the stock sub if it was possible.

 

[compcrasher86]

The guy who made the custom JL box put a lot of time into it, but I wouldn't need or want mine to be as fancy with the JL logo, edge trim, LED lighting.

Would love to see somehody come out with a simplified one just like the OPs with basic carpet covering for a $200-300 price point

 

[geolemon]

Has anyone tried swapping out the sub in the hatch sport touring with an aftermarket?

There's real reasons why this won't work, and it's the same limitations that any shop will have.
Physics dictate that you can NOT have any more than two of the following three desired properties from any sub box:
1) Small enclosure size
2) Low frequency extension
3) High efficiency (read: loudness)

The reason is - your loudness is essentially how much air the sub can displace as it moves in and out.
Bigger cone - moves more air. Or... longer throw subwoofer (more excursion capability) moves more air.
Things are slightly more complex with a ported box, but essentially there's a moving mass of invisible air inside the port contributing to the displacement (loudness) of the sub.

That's assuming the sub is in a box that's the right size for it. The air inside the box (even a ported one - more so, actually, because of that complimentary moving column of air in the port) works like a spring. A small volume of air is tougher to compress than a larger volume of air, so all other things being equal, if you feed a subwoofer 100w in a small box, and feed the same subwoofer 100w in a large box, the large box will be proportionally louder [until the subwoofer reaches it's excursion limits] - because it's able to move in and out more easily, so with the same (or less) power, it makes more excursion.

Another dynamic that happens when you shrink the box is that you reduce how low the subwoofer can play - and it again ties to that whole air-spring stiffness thing... lower frequencies naturally TAKE more excursion to make, a natural function of the slower movement of the cone at lower frequencies. It's only moving in and out 20x per second at 20hz, where it's moving in and out 80 times per second at 80hz, so it won't reach the same excursion level at the higher frequency.

And if you say "Screw it then - I'll put a sub that handles a TON of power into a tiny box, and brute-force it to high excursion with a huuuuge amplifier!", you still can't get around that rule #2 - that's just physics of a subwoofer and how it behaves with an air spring, that power won't change. Perhaps worse, a subwoofer with a coil made of heavy enough wire, and a magnetic gap large enough to shed that high-power heat, and a stiff suspension to contend with the extra weight of all that - it'll take more power to get only as loud as the less expensive subwoofer with the lighter-duty (lighter weight) components on board. Efficiency is down the tubes with that approach, for only moderate gains.

Now look at that factory sub location...
Tiny. That's THE fundamental problem.
So you inherently have #1.
That leaves you choosing whether you want #2 (the ability to actually hit bass notes), or #3 (the ability to get loud).

If you want #2, you'll pick a tiny subwoofer like an 8" sub that'll at least reach reasonably low in a tiny space... but it inherently can't get loud - it has a tiny cone, and you don't have room for a port (if you make a port too small diameter you get audible chuffing).

If you want #3, you'll pick a larger subwoofer that's not ideal in that small space, and it'll be louder than the 8", but not that loud even still (critical limitation of that small enclosure air spring factor), and it won't play all the bass notes you'll want it to... it'll be one of those systems where "Oh, THIS sounds OK... not so much that one... or that one...".

EDIT: Ultimate moral of the story:
Take a look at the pics everyone else posted above - all good options for having a subwoofer that actually works, and lots of good uses of space to get more airspace and more amplifier fitting in there, without eating up the whole hatch to do it.
Figure out where you want it, and how much space that affords you (inside the proposed box, not the space the box itself takes!) - and THEN shop for a subwoofer that works in that space.

 

[dastanli]

Thank you for taking all that time to explain the dynamics of a sub woofer in a way that I can really understand.

 

[Shinjari]

Hey all, just got a 2017 Civic Hatchback LX and upgraded the stock stereo. Here is a pic of my custom subwoofer install. I thought I would share this since I didn't see many pics in the forum when I was researching upgrades for my own setup.

You mention that they remove/relocated the jack/tools. Was this to gain additional space?

Do you think if I contacted them they'd be able to replicate this box without my vehicle? I live in San Diego but visit my friend in Phoenix all the time.

Ah I see you have an LX, the trunk floor height is different than my sport...hmmmm.

Also, where did you install your amp?

Thanks! Great/clean looking install.

 

[Holtz]

There is a good amount of space where the spare is. The install is virtually invisible. I keep a pump with fix-a-flat in it. Otherwise, I'll call a tow truck. Those donut tires scare me anyway.

Any more pictures or information on this setup. Aftermarket speakers/HU? Total cost of amps/subs - links

 

[jepoi03]

I was pissed they didn't even put tweeters in the Sport. That got me started...ended up doing components in all 4 doors and a 12" sub. Just recently gave up on the factory head unit and went with a Kenwood. I am very happy with how it all turned out.

How did you install tweeters on the rear door? I have the same 2017 hatchback sport and Im thinking of adding component for both front and rear.

Thanks.

 

[rjm161]

How did you install tweeters on the rear door? I have the same 2017 hatchback sport and Im thinking of adding component for both front and rear.

Thanks.

I used a hole saw to cut the panel in the spot where the other models have them. Was super simple and less scary than I thought. As others had suggested, I ran the drill in reverse and it worked perfectly. I did look up the price of the entire door panel in case I messes one up, and they were pretty reasonable.

 

[compcrasher86]

I also put my tweeters in the rear door. I traced the cutout and used a dremel with a routing bit to cut very slowly. There’s an impression in the plastic for the factory tweeters, I just used that to center my cutout template for the JL tweeters.

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