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Subwoofer Installation in Factory Back Door

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25K views 37 replies 13 participants last post by  bjmsam  
K
#1 · (Edited)
I wanted to add a subwoofer to the existing back door location since the space is already available and didn't need anything extravagant, just something to fill in the bottom end that the 6.5"s can't do. I know I was limited to a 8" shallow subwoofer, ideally that can be used for free air application. The Pioneer TS-A2000LD2 was my first choice, but didn't want to spend almost full price on it, likewise for the Kicker 48CWRT82, Kicker 48CWRT84, or Rockford Fosgate P3SD2-8. Previous Pioneer TS-SW2002D2 had spec'd for free-air use, so I thought the TS-A2000LD2 would support it too, but as it turned out, it doesn't anymore. These were the parts I used.
After taking the back door panel off, I took some depth measurements of the existing location. The blue numbers indicate the depth allowance without the spacer.
164734


All of those subwoofer listed above will work with the spacer, here's the MB Quart.
164735


There was some clearance issue with the spacer due to how the speaker posts were pointed outwardly, so I had to trim it down a bit.
164736


Originally, I had an 8" speaker grill that I used as a template to make the first hole in the panel.
164737


I thought being in the center would've been good, but as it turned out, the actual position was off to the right. Thus, I enlarged it more and got the 10" grill instead.
164738


The MBQ is a dual 4-ohm, so I wired both voice coils in parallel given it a 2-ohm load. Added the first AMP-like connector for easy plug/unplug.
164739


Subwoofer mounted in the back door. Pulled another section of speaker wire through the boot and added extra AMP-like connectors.
164740


I had the entire interior back lower panel out and routed the speaker wire along existing path.
164741
 
K
#2 · (Edited)
There were two locations where I could've mounted the amp, under passenger front or rear seat. Passenger front ended up to be a better location with more room to work with and easier to mount.
164742


I could've just let the amp sit on the carpet, but wanted to brace it so it doesn't move around. Cut up a template using a cardboard, found an old license plate lying around, used a tin snip to cut it up and painted it. The brace would be held in by the rear seat bolts.
164743


The power cable was run along the back wall of the engine bay into an existing grommet that fed inside to the cabin.
164744


Once inside, it's routed along the door sill edge to where the front seat was.
164745


The provided RCA cable was too long, so I cut to length and soldered on a pair of used RCA connectors.
164746


The wiring from the radio was run along the side next to the seat so It won't pick up noise from the power cable. Pulled everything under the carpeting.
164747


Mounted the bass knob by the driver's seat.
164748


Bracing on the amp and amp ground connected by the factory bolts. When the seat is moved back, the RF amp is well covered.
164749


With the grill off, it's obvious the cut wasn't perfect, but once on, it looked ok.
164750


I had tried to find a factory panel that had the cut-out and grill already, but those just aren't readily available. Though the MB Q isn't rated for free-air, but it does add a nice thump, and I don't have it turned up so high to rattle the panel.
 
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#5 ·
TEKSMRT said:
Love the setup, tried something similar with my 10" Shallow-Mount pioneer but it rattled to much for my liking. I probably also made it wrong. Lol!
Click to expand...
Thanks. If I turn the bass knob all the way up, it will rattle the back door and panel, so I keep it halfway. There are also Loud and Bass increment features from the Pioneer headunit, but I kept them at default (off & 0, respectfully). Having the right enclosure is important, luckily, this MBQ in the back door works. I'm not aiming for SPL anyway, just enough to enjoy the music.

NameofUser said:
Ingenious!!! Good job.

Something to consider, add sound deadening (ie Dynamat) to that hatch sheet metal.
Click to expand...
Thanks. Yes, that is something I will consider down the road. I had looked at it before, just didn't realize it can get quite costly! :oops:
 
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#8 ·
The spacer material I used isn't MDF, but solid wood (not sure of type). I had painted it silver before to somewhat match the overall vehicle color, however, since I had the panel hole cutout snafu, I repainted it black so the gaps would be less visible. The Amazon adapter ring is actually 1/2" thick, the speaker spacer I used is 3/4", which luckily with the speaker over it, didn't push out on the panel as much.
 
#9 ·
Really like this and would love to do it because it doesn't take up any room in the hatch. But, why the "Extra back door panel picked up from a salvage yard"? Is that just so you can return to stock if you decide to sell it?
 
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#10 ·
I think it was mainly because if I f'd it up badly, I'd have a backup so not to make the same mistake. The panel was only $30 since the yard allowed me to walk around and dissemble it myself. I had thought about returning everything back to stock if I do sell the vehicle, but given the work I've put into it and the V6, I'd probably keep it as long as possible. I still like the fact there are no modern sensors that would annoy me while I'm driving.
 
K
#11 ·
Here's a picture of the panel's back, and there is actually a trace of what it appears the factory grill would clip onto. This was with the 8" grill cutout, so if I had originally shift it to the left by that edge, the cutout would be just right since that's what I ended up doing.
164836
 
#14 ·
FYI for anyone about to do this install following this info. The subwoofer and subwoofer adapter/spacer ring that he provides links for above are not compatible. The adapter ring fits the vehicle, but does not fit the speaker. The hole in the adapter 4irng is about 3/8" to small to allow the sub to flush mount. To clarify I am not talking about the speaker post issue, I am talking about the diameter of the back of the sub. Therefore it is a huge pain and you might as well build your own spacer or find a different sub. Also this sub is not rated for open air and provides almost zero base when installed in the back door. You can crank it up and get some, but then it will rattle the door structure. This is after installing dynamat and putting additional foam supports inside the door to control vibration. Even though I hate having a sub box in the way when loading the cargo area, I will probably be returning to my kicker cx series 10" box.
 
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#15 ·
Tribe01 said:
FYI for anyone about to do this install following this info. The subwoofer and subwoofer adapter/spacer ring that he provides links for above are not compatible. The adapter ring fits the vehicle, but does not fit the speaker. The hole in the adapter 4irng is about 3/8" to small to allow the sub to flush mount. To clarify I am not talking about the speaker post issue, I am talking about the diameter of the back of the sub. Therefore it is a huge pain and you might as well build your own spacer or find a different sub.
Click to expand...
The description for the adapter ring clearly states it's for the Kicker 8" sub because it's already pre-drilled for 8 screw holes. I would assume whoever wants to use it would know that it may not be completely compatible and need some modifications to have the baffle fit over the spacer. The point is the adapter ring DOES fit the factory mounting holes in case someone doesn't want to measure and cut out the spacer specifically for the shallow sub they want to use. If it's a huge pain, then this setup wasn't meant for you. I would've thought these pictures would show you the work that's needed.

Tribe01 said:
Also this sub is not rated for open air and provides almost zero base when installed in the back door. You can crank it up and get some, but then it will rattle the door structure. This is after installing dynamat and putting additional foam supports inside the door to control vibration. Even though I hate having a sub box in the way when loading the cargo area, I will probably be returning to my kicker cx series 10" box.
Click to expand...
I beg to differ on "zero base" since I actually have felt it from the music that I've been listening to. Is it tremendous? No. Will it rattle? Sure. But the music has become more enjoyable for me. There aren't many 8" free-air, shallow sub that will fit in the back door, but I took a risk since I didn't want give up rear cabin space. You do what suits you and if the Kicker box is it, then let it be.
 
B
#16 ·
KTL said:
I wanted to add a subwoofer to the existing back door location since the space is already available and didn't need anything extravagant, just something to fill in the bottom end that the 6.5"s can't do. I know I was limited to a 8" shallow subwoofer, ideally that can be used for free air application. The Pioneer TS-A2000LD2 was my first choice, but didn't want to spend almost full price on it, likewise for the Kicker 43CWRT82, Kicker 43CWRT84, or Rockford Fosgate P3SD2-8. Previous Pioneer TS-SW2002D2 had spec'd for free-air use, so I thought the TS-A2000LD2 would support it too, but as it turned out, it doesn't anymore. These were the parts I used.
After taking the back door panel off, I took some depth measurements of the existing location. The blue numbers indicate the depth allowance without the spacer.
View attachment 164734

All of those subwoofer listed above will work with the spacer, here's the MB Quart.
View attachment 164735

There was some clearance issue with the spacer due to how the speaker posts were pointed outwardly, so I had to trim it down a bit.
View attachment 164736

Originally, I had an 8" speaker grill that I used as a template to make the first hole in the panel.
View attachment 164737

I thought being in the center would've been good, but as it turned out, the actual position was off to the right. Thus, I enlarged it more and got the 10" grill instead.
View attachment 164738

The MBQ is a dual 4-ohm, so I wired both voice coils in parallel given it a 2-ohm load. Added the first AMP-like connector for easy plug/unplug.
View attachment 164739

Subwoofer mounted in the back door. Pulled another section of speaker wire through the boot and added extra AMP-like connectors.
View attachment 164740

I had the entire interior back lower panel out and routed the speaker wire along existing path.
View attachment 164741
Click to expand...
looks like nice work... how did it sound.?
do all rear doors have this cut out even without factory sub?
i have not taken mine apart to investigate yet.. but would change my plans if worked well.

Thanks
B.
 
#20 · (Edited)
KTL said:
I wanted to add a subwoofer to the existing back door location
Click to expand...
I admire the work that you put into this. To me there is plenty of low end even with the factory subwoofer (connected to the OE JBL/Harman Kardon amplifier).

I also hate if anything rattles when listening to music, I hear that daily on Hondas :)

What I didn't like on the OE system was a pronounced "hump" at 9kHz (that some people used to mp3 from phone trough in-ear headphones like) and lack of real top end (14kHz-20kHz).
I measured this audio curve with a sound generator app, and the microphone of my phone. That's why I have replaced the front door factory "tweeters" with 3.5" JBL GTO329 coaxial speakers (premium line, 3 ohm). Yes, those are a bit larger than the panel cutout, but I left it as is. They filled nicely the mid-top end.

Tribe01 said:
I have my rear speakers replaced with kicker CX series speakers
Click to expand...
Do you have the factory amp? If so... do those speakers have 3 ohm coils?
Personally I am looking at the JBL Club 620F series (3 ohm/55W/92dB) or Infinity Reference REF-6532ex series (3ohm/55W/93dB).
 
K
#21 ·
SoNic67 said:
I admire the work that you put into this. To me there is plenty of low end even with the factory subwoofer (connected to the OE JBL/Harman Kardon amplifier).

I also hate if anything rattles when listening to music, I hear that daily on Hondas :)
Click to expand...
Thanks. :) I didn't know what to expect, but for sure would be better than the non-existence sub. I had thought about just buying or building a proper box, but when I installed the back-up camera, I noticed existing holes for the factory sub, so decided to try it out. Besides, it was a nice distraction / project away from WFH protocols. My wife's HL has the factory amp and I was quite surprised how much the bass sounded better after replacing it with a Kicker 8", as well as the music balance. The 4.3 is my DD, I have other rattles in this 15-yr old vehicle so I'm probably less sensitive to the back door rattle. 😁 However, if I hear any rattle in the HL, it'll drive me a bit crazy since it's just a much silent vehicle.
 
#34 ·
KTL said:
I took some depth measurements of the existing location. The blue numbers indicate the depth allowance without the spacer.
Image

...
Image
Click to expand...
KTL said:
Based on what @BeatupVR4 had indicated in his post, I decided to do the same with some polyfill. It's only been a day with about 30 minutes of driving, but definitely has an improvement.
Image
Click to expand...
Thanks for the helpful measurements! What function is served by the openings stamped in the door above and to the right of the subwoofer? Can they be closed off to help seal that stuffed volume (or a portion of it) as an enclosure for the subwoofer?

NameofUser said:
Something to consider, add sound deadening (ie Dynamat) to that hatch sheet metal.
Click to expand...
Excerpt of thread documenting extensive treatment:
ToTheLifeboats said:
A big part of quiet and comfortable is the sound treatment.
...
You're always going for the flat spots (also around the sub because I'm going to mount a 8" sub in the rear door) because they will vibrate the most. Then I coated the door with 10mm foil backed closed cell foam:
Image

It's time consuming, but I usually just bring a panel in and work on it while watching TV. (speaker hole area still has paper backing on it)

I also treated the back door but I covered about +80% with sound deadner and foam. It's a slow time consuming process especially when you're cutting and placing everything twice. The back door alone took most of the day. I did a very extensive job on it because I bought an MB Quart DS1-204 Discus Shallow Mount Subwoofer to put in the factory door location. A lot of people bitch about getting shit sound from the rear hatch, but they do nothing to sound treat the door. What do they expect? Even the factory JBL sub comes with it's own enclosure that fits into the back door. I'd much rather have the room than 2-12" subs (had that in my first car when I was a kid). I want quality over volume these days, but I still want to occasionally jam with some really nice low end. The car has a metal divider that compartmentalizes the door in half (I think it's support for the spare).
Click to expand...
Interesting method of eliminating rattles:
sgtbilkodle said:
A cheap fix to stop that sub from rattling.
...

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Click to expand...
 
K
#35 ·
bjmsam said:
What function is served by the openings stamped in the door above and to the right of the subwoofer? Can they be closed off to help seal that stuffed volume (or a portion of it) as an enclosure for the subwoofer?
Click to expand...
I want to say it's probably a crumble zone for the door when it gets hit from behind, to minimize any impact to the body. I think you can definitely seal it off, perhaps with some fiberglass and MDF.
 
#38 · (Edited)
KTL said:
I think you can definitely seal it off, perhaps with some fiberglass and MDF.
Click to expand...
Thanks. That seems sensible if I decide to tackle this project, but after measuring the stock non-JBL speakers' response with equalization, I am not sure the juice would be worth the squeeze.
bjmsam said:
I used Room EQ Wizard (REW) with a calibrated UMIK-1 microphone to measure the stock non-JBL speakers in my 2009 Sport with Android head unit. Left and right sweeps were measured independently, averaged, and smoothed for comparison with the Harman (Toole) target curve. The red trace is with Loudness off and EQ set to flat and the blue trace is with Loudness on and EQ set to what sounds best to me (the 12 bands are misleading, as the headunit's audio processor supports only three).

Image


Image


Image
Click to expand...
Below is bass response without smoothing (L+R averages of raw measurements) which is relatively flat down to 44Hz. Though an 8" shallow mount (limited excursion) subwoofer without a proper enclosure might extend frequency response a bit lower, the primary advantage likely would be an ability to play louder (since the headunit's high-pass filter would relieve the door drivers of deep bass duties).

Image
 
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