full review, writeup, and installation steps: ctr subs, amp, center channel, and door speakers

[Frackz]

They're 3.5" speakers nominal and 3.15" actual.

sorry if i was not direct enough but im looking for the size of this speaker.

Pulled this info from the review page.. based on this really nothing out there that will fit as a direct drop in. that mounting depth is horrid.

They're 3.5" speakers nominal and 3.15" actual.
The stock 3.5" speaker is only 1-1/8" overall depth with a mounting depth of only 5/8"

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[JaimeD]

pioneer dual voice coil sub and rockford fosgate amp installed. wow...just wow!!!

my full review, writeup, and over 60 pics of step by step installation are here...enjoy!

Thanks so much!

 

[ctrmofo]

I see step 2 says you can upgrade the sub with the stock amp and it shows the pioneer sub. I think I saw in this thread you switch to a kicker sub. Will that sub work with the stock amp too? Obviously I’ll look to upgrade the amp down the line too

correct...can upgrade just sub to use with stock amp.

yes, tried the kicker - yes and no they worked and didn't work. the kicker 43cwrt82 model is a dual voice coil (2 ohms each coil) which means it can be wired as either 4 ohms (series) or 1 ohm (parallel). here are why it works and doesn't when wired as either 4 ohms or 1 ohms:

- as 4 ohms, it's too much load so your bass gets cut in half

- as 1 ohms, it too low of a load for the stock amp to drive and works for about 15 mins at mid to high volume then shuts the entire audio system down for protection of the stock amp.

therefore, i took the next step of testing out the alpine 8" sub plus external amp then added lc2i controller....followed by another and final test of the jl 8" sub and jl amp which i use to this day absolutely no problems.

 

[ctrmofo]

Thanks so much!

you're welcome! glad the guidance and research we did along with contribution from other members helped.

 

[alvav]

you're welcome! glad the guidance and research we did along with contribution from other members helped.

Any chance of a sub kit in April? Anxiously waiting

 

[Deadgame]

I've searched around, but haven't found how to bypass the stock amp to run an aftermarket amp for mids/tweets/sub. Do I tap before or after oem amp? And specifically, I'm not just tapping, but actually cutting these speaker wires and connecting to 9-wire headed to the aftermarket amp (with DSP processing onboard) and then back where the wires were cut so they can head to the individual speakers, correct? Lastly, what is this business of "bypassing the amp with a resistor"?

 

[DuneShoot]

Been trying to catch up on this thread but only made it to page 15 so far.
Excellent info, thanks for doing these write ups!

I'm planning on doing the 1st step, Pioneer sub and RF amp. Also decided I mite as well do the LC2i while I'm in there to prepare for future upgrades.

Do you have a wiring diagram showing the LC2i and RF amp connections all in one photo or diagram?

 

[phornea]

Been trying to catch up on this thread but only made it to page 15 so far.
Excellent info, thanks for doing these write ups!

I'm planning on doing the 1st step, Pioneer sub and RF amp. Also decided I mite as well do the LC2i while I'm in there to prepare for future upgrades.

Do you have a wiring diagram showing the LC2i and RF amp connections all in one photo or diagram?

You probably already have what your looking for by now, but in case you don't and for future reference, have a look at this video:

He shows a complete diagram as well as explains it. The only thing he doesn't have in his diagram that I would also suggest is a 1amp fuse on the positive (red) wire going from AMP to LC2i to power it. This will protect from any shorts or failures on the LC2i causing extended damage.

 

[phornea]

Question for those who installed the 8" Kicker CompRT sub in the stock enclosure, how did you go about regarding re-drilling and mounting the sub? I've seen ctrmofo mention that you just have to re-drill new holes closer to the center as they are just position in a smaller diameter than stock. But to me it looks like there's VERY little "meat" where you would need to drill the new holes. Not only would the screws be right up against the edge of the circumference, but there's also no reinforcement like there is with the stock screws.

So did you guys just simply drill new holes and mounted it this way? Is this strong enough? Thanks.

 

[phornea]

Ok, since I didn't get any replies, I went ahead and came up with my own solution. Again, I really wasn't comfortable installing the Kicker CompRT sub with just re-drilled holes in the thin plastic rim of the enclosure. So I wanted to figure out some way of reinforcing the area the screws will be screwed into. Here was the way I did it. You might be able to figure out a more fancy and cleaner way of doing it, such as using screw inserts or similar, but I found my method to be quick, easy and very effective/strong.

Sorry I don't have pictures so I will try my best to explain.

1. First, tape (with clear packing tape) around the inner part of the enclosure below the rim where the stock reinforcement material is that goes around. This will create a channel between the tape and the rim that the sub sits on.

2. Using hot glue (I used the full sized hot glue sticks, not mini, makes it faster as you would need a lot) go around the entire newly created channel and fill it with hot glue. You can even fill the channel slightly past the edge of the rim to provide even more material for screws to hold into, as Kicker sub is much thinner and won't be an issue. I did this in 8 sections and let each section cool as I rotated the enclosure and moved to the next section, to prevent too much sagging of the hot glue.

3. Let the glue fully cool/cure before proceeding next. Then pull off the tape you placed earlier. Now you're left with this nice circle of reinforcement of hot glue beneath the plastic rim that you can drill and insert your screws into. Place the sub into the enclosure making sure the glue isn't interfering with it and if there is any interference (too much glue used past the rim) just trim with a knife (very easy to do). Then use the sub and it's rim to trace where new holes will be. I rotated mine slightly to the left (counterclockwise) from original screws, which also landed the sub in perfect vertical alignment with enclosure. Now drill the new holes all the way through the rim and glue while running the bit in and out several times to ensure there is a nice clean guide hole all the way through.

4. Lastly, just install the sub with self tapping screws through the new holes you drilled. Make sure these are long enough to reach to the bottom through the glue for good bite and hold. I used countersunk wood screws in 1-1/4" length.

I was incredibly happy with the results and I think it was an excellent method. Not only does the got glue provide significant amount of bite for the screws, but it is more than strong enough and it's also slightly flexible (has absorption properties). Also it dries very quick (whole thing took me less than 30mins) and sticks very well to the enclosure's plastic. So it's perfect for this application. You can, for the sake of simplicity and time , only use hot glue in areas where you will screw into, but I liked the idea of going all the way around much better as I feel this is the strongest and really doesn't add all that much time and def. not much weight.

Here's a pic of my sub installed. Again, sorry I don't have pictures of the internal work.

 

[Andjoo]

I think I've read this thread end to end, and my heads spinning. Lots of info.

Help a noob out.
If I get
Rockford Fosgate PBR300X1 Punch 300 Watt Mono Boosted Rail Amplifier
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004T163PW/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3ADWMNXT7FS32&psc=1

and
Pioneer TS-SW2002D2 8-inch Shallow-Mount Subwoofer with 600 Watts Max Power
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JQTU434/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=A2UQKNL1HDAXZA&psc=1

I'd be all set? Don't need an LC2i? Just amp, sub, wire it up as per the multiple guides in this thread?

 

[DuneShoot]

I think I've read this thread end to end, and my heads spinning. Lots of info.


I'd be all set? Don't need an LC2i? Just amp, sub, wire it up as per the multiple guides in this thread?

That's what I did then tuned it per RF's instructions.
It does sound a lot better but for me some songs have too much bass.

 

[slimertheghost]

So I bough the RF amp and Pioneer sub and installed them a few weeks ago. I usually listen to my music between 15-18 volume, and it's not very bassy. I'm having an issue where the sub will sometime cut out or pop at these volumes. I have the gain all the way down too. I'm not very knowledgeable on this, so I figure I didn't wire something right on the sub side.

Anyone have some thoughts on what I should start with?

Thanks

 

[phornea]

If anyone is interested in seeing how I did the sub+amp+LC2i installation in a HB Touring model (with spare tire), here are some pics. Initially I was really worried about the limited space (due to spare tire, unlike CTR that has foam block with lots of space in the middle of it), but once I figured out a couple of solutions, it worked out beautifully.

I used a Pioneer GM-DX871, which is a fairly large and heavy Amp (larger/heavier than RF R500X1D and definitely much larger/heavier than T500X1br), so I needed to find a way to mount it securely with limited space. I didn't want to make wooden planks that run across the entire trunk section as I've seen some members do, as I really didn't like that and I also didn't want to modify the supporting foam blocks too much. So what I did is I cut a piece of plywood to the same size as the amp and ran 4 mounting bolts through it and through the trunk covering/paneling with large washers on the under side. Obviously this requires removal of the entire left side covering/paneling, but isn't too difficult really. Because my amp has a slight gap below it (due to raised feet), I could run these bolts below the amp and the bolt heads did not interfere, so the plywood was cut to the exact size of amp for a clean look. (You could also just use countersunk head bolts and make the cutouts in the plywood with a large drill bit if your amp sits flat.) The amp is then bolted to the plywood with wood screws. Beside the floor jack is where the amp had by far the most room out of the four corners around the tire, so that is where I mounted it. That area allows most of the amp to sit onto the trunk covering/paneling with just a slight portion of it sticking out to the side (this is why the plywood is required to properly support the amp).

I also really liked placing the amp in this location because it was ideal in terms of the cable routing and it's not located right beside the sub.
I placed the LC2i with double sided acrylic tape under the tire and also did all the cable routing below the tire.
This worked out great for the cleanest cable routing (shortest path and least overlaps) and overall cleanest look.

The two foam blocks in the corner with the amp need to be trimmed for the height of the amp+plywood.
The jack is still completely accessible. Make sure amp is placed slightly away from the door/cover so it can be opened to access the jack and to provide space for input cables into the amp.

 

[ctrmofo]

Any chance of a sub kit in April? Anxiously waiting

still tbd....lots going on and traveling so much it's hard to pin down. will keep folks posted.

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