10 or 12inch sub?

I want to put a sub into my wagon. I'm not sure what size to get. The only thing I'm worried about it that it will be to much for everyday. I want to be able to have crazy bass and also still have a crisp sound. I was wondering if anyone has ran a sub in there wagon and how it went for them?

I don't think anyone here has EVER put an aftermarket subwoofer in their wagon.

I've put subs in all the wagons I've had except for my legacy. I think we have similar goals - a good solid thump but not annoying for daily use. I would recommend a nice single voice coil 10 with a few hundred watts at 2-4 ohms. I had a 10" mtx 4ohm getting 400 watts peak (probably 200rms). I think it's good tight bass and was plenty for a wagon.

 

From what I've read, the alternators and grounding on these legacies are weak. For that reason I'd avoid a 12 and high wattage. A 12 will hit lower frequencies better but you'll probably end up having to do a lot of electrical work to get your car to handle it.

 

Look at JL subs, by the way. They are some of the most efficient ones out there (loud with low wattage). Pricey, but good quality stuff.

Two Kenwood W3013's and a Kenwood 9105D amp should suffice just fine!

 

Or, because that might be too powerful for you... Go with one and an 8104D amp.

 

It's inexpensive and widely available on eBay. The subs are about $60 each brand new and the 9105D is available for as little as $140 brand new. The 8105D can be found for as little as $115 on Amazon.

10 inch, no brainer

12" kicker L7attach the bass knob for the amp in the front to power it down.

I have 2 10" subs in the SS, and two 12+" subs in the wagon. 10" subs are way better IMO. Hit hard and crisp. I think one nice 10" sub in a proper box driven by a nice amp and HU is more than anyone would ever need.

 

It's fun to bump the old Subies, lol.

I think one nice 10" sub in a proper box driven by a nice amp and HU is more than anyone would ever need.

 

This.

 

Take the money you would spend on a couple 12s and a high powered amp and spend it on a good quality 1x10 setup. I think you'll be happiest in the end that way.

Thanks guys I think I'm going to go with a single 10 with a box built to the size of the sub. I think I will probably get a sub that rated at 1000w peak but only get a amp that is like 800w peak. I like to under power subs "keeps drunk girls blowing them", Do you think the stock alternator will handle a 800w amp? also anyone ever mount the amp under the passenger or back seat?

Thanks guys I think I'm going to go with a single 10 with a box built to the size of the sub. I think I will probably get a sub that rated at 1000w peak but only get a amp that is like 800w peak. I like to under power subs "keeps drunk girls blowing them", Do you think the stock alternator will handle a 800w amp? also anyone ever mount the amp under the passenger or back seat?

 

Pick your components based on RMS wattage ratings, and completely ignore peak/max ratings. Those max ratings don't mean anything.

 

I disagree on going with a 10" personally. I would go at least 12", if not 15" when you're not worried about losing cargo space. If you want "crazy bass" as you said, a 10" sub will probably disappoint because they can't hit as low as a 12" or 15". Going with a bigger sub does not automatically mean you need lots more power. There are plenty of low-to-moderate power 12" and 15" options.

 

I also think it's a bad idea to purposely underpower a sub. It's actually smarter to buy an amp slightly more powerful than the sub needs. You control an amp's output with the gain, so a drunk chick blowing a sub should never happen, even if you have a 5000 watt amp on a 500 watt sub. If you underpower it, you'll be driving the amp into clipping trying to get more volume out of it, which will sound awful and potentially damage the sub. Driving an amp into clipping also puts a lot more stress on the car's charging system.

also anyone ever mount the amp under the passenger or back seat?

 

If you're going 800w, it will probably create a lot of heat so I wouldn't put it under a seat. I'd recommend putting it on the back of the rear seat or mounting it to the back of your box.

 

What's your budget for this project anyway?

I figure all in I should be around 200. I already have a good head unit and good speakers in the doors I still have a bunch of dino mat left over from when I did my doors I was thinking about doing to to the back hatch just to try to keep the sound in the car. I have ran amps under seats before with a problem, but i think it was only like 500 watts.

Dude, 10" subs are sweet!

Pick your components based on RMS wattage ratings, and completely ignore peak/max ratings. Those max ratings don't mean anything.

 

I disagree on going with a 10" personally. I would go at least 12", if not 15" when you're not worried about losing cargo space. If you want "crazy bass" as you said, a 10" sub will probably disappoint because they can't hit as low as a 12" or 15". Going with a bigger sub does not automatically mean you need lots more power. There are plenty of low-to-moderate power 12" and 15" options.

 

I also think it's a bad idea to purposely underpower a sub. It's actually smarter to buy an amp slightly more powerful than the sub needs. You control an amp's output with the gain, so a drunk chick blowing a sub should never happen, even if you have a 5000 watt amp on a 500 watt sub. If you underpower it, you'll be driving the amp into clipping trying to get more volume out of it, which will sound awful and potentially damage the sub. Driving an amp into clipping also puts a lot more stress on the car's charging system.

 

I agree with just about everything above.

 

Don't under power the subs too much... No less than 50% period.

 

Keep them as close to 100% as possible. I'm talking RMS to RMS wattage. RMS is the average output wattage at any given volume level. Wattage output of an amplifier of any type, directly correlates to the volume level. So, you're not putting out the RMS rating of power most of the time. The higher the wattage, the cleaner sound output at higher volumes.

 

Under powering a speaker of any sort, will cause clipping above a specific volume level. Clipping is distortion. It can cause amplifier and/or speaker failure. Clipping can be cause by under powering or over powering.

 

You also need to keep in mind resistance, especially when using more than one sub. Match the amplifier with the sub. This also affects the power output.

 

Honestly, go with two 10" subs in an enclosed box. Get a sub that matches the amplifier. Yes, that can be loud and over powering, but that's what tuning is for... You can control the output levels. 10" subs are punchy, and two of them will provide plenty of kick and resonance whenever and wherever you want it.

 

 

Our cars alternator puts out around 70 amps at 2,000 RPM and up to around 130 amps at 6,000 RPM. That is enough to easily power an amp that puts out 400 to 800 watts RMS. I would still upgrade the cars major chassis grounds when installing any system though.

 

Also, remember, the size of wire (especially the ground), will limit how much power you can actually pull from the battery.

 

That's just a basic gist of everything.

I've got a monoblock 1000W amp bumping my 12 inch sub powered by my gen 2 it does fine stock, the lights barely dim when it hits hard at night.

Thats peak BTW

Some amplifiers that put out a peak of 1000 watts only put out 200 watt RMS

I just looked mine up, at 2 ohms its 500 rms, it bumps hard enough for me

How many subs do you have hooked up to it? How many channel amp is it?

Just a single 1500w sub, mono block Amp

Check my siggy link. I have a 300W RMS dual 2-Ohm voice coil 10" RF sub in a custom enclosure in my sedan, matched to a 500W RMS (@ 2 Ohms) RF sub amp. I realize some are into making sure people can hear them coming two blocks away, but for personal use, I don't know why anyone would want more than that.

Just a single 1500w sub, mono block Amp

 

What's the AMP push out at 4 Ohms?

I think it said 300 w

i have one 10 inch kicker comp sounds great but i had to upgrade my door speakers to get a clean sound

I have 3 12's ported to 45 htz in 6 cuft, 1000 watts.

 

Currently its a DBdrag machine.