Got my kicker hideaway all set up with fans and relays and all the wiring annnnndddd... it's started to rattle. The unit itself rattles. So I sent it back and was sent a new one. Now THAT ONE rattles. I think I'm asking too much from this little 8" unenclosed woofer.

Back to the drawing board. Considering:
One of those under rear strut bar setups
A small ported 8"
A sealed 10"

Having issues with:
Finding a ported or even sealed box that will fit in the hatch of the Z.


Ideas gentlemen? I really don't want to have to go through the whole learning curve of building a custom box but at this point maybe that's my only option.

 

build it

 

I still stand by the PS-8 but who knows if it'll work for you. Maybe one of the enclosures built for that area, IDK if they are still available?

 

PS-8??

Also must mention I may have been being dumb this whole time. I really don't know a lot about sound systems. Building a suspension...., I have that down to an actual science. Sound...., on the shallow end of the learning curve.
So the kicker has three ***** on it. Everything I read said the bass boost **** just adds distortion. Well, today I turned down the gain a lot and turned up the bass boost. Now it sounds great. I don't think it's a "bass boost" **** per se. Since it's a powered sub that only produces bass it's essentially just a volume ****. So I've been trying to turn up its volume with head unit input and gain which overpowered it and caused it to start clipping. Clipping horribly.

I am not going to blame myself entirely here as the kicker manual didn't explain any of this.

 

Like you mention: suspensions you have down, and now you're slowly adding audio systems to your skill set - cool. I added AC repair to my skillset this past Spring - it felt great to finally have that understood (using a vacuum pump to pull vacuum, etc.) so that I won't be afraid to replace AC components and charge the system, if needed. Next on my list is welding.

But back to audio system setup... Yeah, when you install an amplifier (for speakers or a sub), you do need to adjust the gain of the input to avoid clipping/distortion. Typically, I'll adjust this witht headunit set to about 75-80% of max volume, trying to adjust the input gain at the amplifier so that audio output is clean, and allow for a little margin for lower/higher volumes from the source material. You'll probably be in there to tweak the settings again at some point, too, when you encounter a favorite song that still doesn't sound "just right".

Good luck!

 

The Rockford sub I have, yeah the bass boost is essentially how much sub volume you want.
I left all my stuff at 0 or min and then just turn up volume with the remote.

 

I've had a JL Audio stealth box in my car for over 10 years and have been satisfied with the performance. I did have to replace the 2 10" Subs 1 time but that's because i blew one out and they didn't make it anymore so I ended up having to replace both. I have seen similar designs w just a single sub in it. The nice thing about it is I have most of my trunk left. With the hatch closed it looks pretty factory looking in. You can't really tell I have an expensive sound system in the car. I have my JL Amp installed in the cubby spot behind the drivers seat so it really completes the stealth look.

 

This will be what I am going to do as all my connections are already in the cubby. I just need to run a new power wire as the new setup is going to draw more amperage. How much RMS are you pushing? I am grabbing a setup with 250 RMS and am hoping that will bump enough for my tastes without adding a ton of weight.

 

Honestly I Can’t remember how much RMS I have. I do have 6 speakers and 2 subs being pushed by a 5.1 Jl Audio HD amp. I’m guessing somewhere between 250 and 500. I have a 1farad capacitor and an optima red top battery and haven’t had any issues. I will see if I can find my exact model numbers and calculate my rms. By the way, I think the yellow top is supposed to be better for heavy hitting sound systems.

 

the hatch is the spot, I like facing up... The Rockford P1 2ohm 15 on a 300 watt amp was my favorite set up...

Ive had

1 8 inch Rockford
2 8 inch Rockford
1 15 inch Rockford
1 10 inch polk mm1
And currently have 1 12 inch alpine on a 500 watt amp.


not a lot of room for Costco with this set up though.

 

LOL, I have a minivan for Costco runs. I went there once with Z. I fit a surprising amount in the car but kind of had to put stuff all over

 

Yeah we have a few options when we go out but we try to get the Z out once a week at least and Costco is usually the spot.