Subwoofer adding guideline (not official)

Eric.S. · Jun 29, 2023

Hello, since I wanted to install a subwoofer because the sound was not good for me, I made a small tutorial here. The whole thing was installed by me with the best of my knowledge and conscience, but this does not mean that it was carried out perfectly and error-free! Everyone acts as he wants

Since my English is not so error-free, I was supported by a program, so whoever finds errors can keep them

So and off we go

The whole thing was realised with a Pioneer TS-WX130DA. This is not too expensive and fits perfectly under the front seat. I will build another bracket so that the tool still fits under the seat.

The first step is to remove the centre cover on the B column. This one is only clipped but still doesn't just go down. Have a few spare clips ready, as they like to break.

After that, the tread mouldings front and rear must be removed. This step is the easiest

If the treads are down, the lower cover of the B column must be down. This has 4 screws: 2 top Torx 30 and 2 bottom 10mm

That's what the whole thing looks like. The cables for the speakers are twisted and have a black mark. I did not cut these extra, but only removed the insulation with the cutter. The whole thing can be done as minimalistically as possible because the subwoofer only needs an input signal and no power is required from the cables. A cinch extension is absolutely sufficient. This is briefly soldered and cleanly insulated again. You can also solder on the plug, but this could not be easily separated with me and also have no matching grimp connecters....

We continue on a new page because I don't know how many photos the post can handle

Eric.S. · Jun 29, 2023

And further

@Jean Mercier has already explained well how the electricity is taken off. I have chosen the switch, then you can turn it on and off as you like. The subwoofer needs 10a and the switch can handle 10a so everything is perfect. The cables were neatly attached and laid by me through the existing guides or with cable ties to the wire harness.

Unfortunately, I had to make a small recess under the seat so that you can lay the cables under the rubber and they are not visible. Then the subwoofer is connected and now temporarily pushed under the seat. Then install all the panels again and you're done

I like the sound much better now, you see almost nothing and it doesn't cost the world. The best solution for me

DaBull · Jun 29, 2023

Hi Eric.S., Thanks again for all the details and great photos. Since the sub-woofer is getting the signal from an existing speaker wire, it likely does not show up in the infotainment screen and as such you control it via wired remote. DaBull

Eric.S. · Jun 29, 2023

DaBull said:
Hi Eric.S., Thanks again for all the details and great photos. Since the sub-woofer is getting the signal from an existing speaker wire, it likely does not show up in the infotainment screen and as such you control it via wired remote. DaBull

Yes, exactly, there is a remote control included. I think if everything is well adjusted until once, I'll put it under the seat. You can still adjust the sound afterwards via the equaliser on the infotainment, which works!

Pat · Jul 3, 2023

Thanks Eric for this great tutorial and documentation. I am planning instead to use the space under the rear passenger bench (Fieldmaster) as this would allow me to use an existing subwoofer installed in my current car.

Carefant · Aug 26, 2023

Pat said:
Thanks Eric for this great tutorial and documentation. I am planning instead to use the space under the rear passenger bench (Fieldmaster) as this would allow me to use an existing subwoofer installed in my current car.

Hi Pat. I’m hoping to do the same thing. I spoke to Studio Incar in Fareham UK, who have upgraded an IG stereo system including a removable active sub that lives in the rear loadspace. He tells me the vehicle they worked on had no space under the rear seat for a sub, but it sounds like it had a second battery in there. He hasn’t yet seen a Grenadier with no second battery, so isn’t sure what space that would leave. I’m picking my Fieldmaster up in September and will lift the rear seat and send him photos and measurements. Have you done that already by any chance, and could you share if so? Cheers, Steve

ChaosDogg · Aug 30, 2023

@Eric.S. Do you know if all 4 pairs of speaker wires can be found on the B pillar loom you linked? I'd like to run them all to an amp so that I can keep the fader/balance controls through the head unit.

Eric.S. · Aug 31, 2023

ChaosDogg said:
@Eric.S. Do you know if all 4 pairs of speaker wires can be found on the B pillar loom you linked? I'd like to run them all to an amp so that I can keep the fader/balance controls through the head unit.

No, i only found the rear LH wires in the B pillar. Sorry;(

Desertfox · Nov 20, 2023

Eric.S. said:
And further @Jean Mercier has already explained well how the electricity is taken off. I have chosen the switch, then you can turn it on and off as you like. The subwoofer needs 10a and the switch can handle 10a so everything is perfect. The cables were neatly attached and laid by me through the existing guides or with cable ties to the wire harness.View attachment 7818433
View attachment 7818434
View attachment 7818435
Unfortunately, I had to make a small recess under the seat so that you can lay the cables under the rubber and they are not visible. Then the subwoofer is connected and now temporarily pushed under the seat. Then install all the panels again and you're done I like the sound much better now, you see almost nothing and it doesn't cost the world. The best solution for me
View attachment 7818440
View attachment 7818441
View attachment 7818442

Hello Eric, Thank you for the excellent information on the Subwoofer install, I am going for the same setup, I have two questions, 1. Could you tell me where you tapped the speaker wires from and what color they were? (I am assuming you used speaker level input of the subwoofer). 2. What did you set the input gain at? Normal or High as i have ready that if it crosses 4v it should be set to high. Thank you.

ChaosDogg · Nov 28, 2023

Desertfox said:
Hello Eric, Thank you for the excellent information on the Subwoofer install, I am going for the same setup, I have two questions, 1. Could you tell me where you tapped the speaker wires from and what color they were? (I am assuming you used speaker level input of the subwoofer). 2. What did you set the input gain at? Normal or High as i have ready that if it crosses 4v it should be set to high. Thank you.

Speaker wire colors are on the photos below:

Desertfox · Dec 4, 2023

Thank you @ChaosDogg , did you change the speakers? I am assuming you added a Sub, how does it sound? I am going to add on the Pioneer, seems the easiest one requiring less space. But will wire in both left and right speaker wires to it, most probably the rear. I was thinking on adding JBL speakers, nothing too fancy but to get a clearer treble, as the Sub will take care of the base. Might add some Dynamat to the door panels while I am at it to deaden the vibration if any.

Krabby · Dec 12, 2023

I'm going to bump this because I managed to derail my own thread - the NAS REAR SEAT thread became a subwoofer/premium audio sidequest. That said, I'll steer that one back and we can use this to discuss the audio situation.

jwb · Dec 12, 2023

Moving my comment from another thread.

Last week I listened to the OEM subwoofer sound system and my observations were similar to Roach (link). It truly sounded awful/unusable, the radio stations were almost like charlie brown's teacher. The little JBL sub gets decent reviews in other applications so I assume it just isn't configured properly. The gain was likely set all the way up and the frequency cut off too high, the result was a lot of distortion. I also tried to find any audio settings in the user interface and could only find pre-set EQ (ironically it was defaulted to flat), I didn't see any separate base control though I might have missed it. Either way it's only line level inputs to the sub, so any dash adjustments would effect all speakers.

I look forward to hearing from someone that has taken delivery a truck with the subwoofer, and whether they were able to dial it in to something more enjoyable.

IG_in_AZ · Dec 12, 2023

US guys, Crutchfield has pretty good sales this time of year. Not affiliated, just a customer. I have a complete Focal system I purchased from them a few years ago, ready to install: speakers, amps, sub. I could do it myself, but I know myself well enough and take shortcuts when I get frustrated, and want it done right, once. So I will take it to a local professional car stereo shop to get them to connect everything to the head unit properly and in case they need a line out convertor, etc.

DaBull · Dec 12, 2023

IG_in_AZ said:
US guys, Crutchfield has pretty good sales this time of year. Not affiliated, just a customer. I have a complete Focal system I purchased from them a few years ago, ready to install: speakers, amps, sub. I could do it myself, but I know myself well enough and take shortcuts when I get frustrated, and want it done right, once. So I will take it to a local professional car stereo shop to get them to connect everything to the head unit properly and in case they need a line out convertor, etc.

Hi IG_in_AZ, Perhaps you could gather information for others on how that install is done for those of that don't live in Arizona. DaBull

Rubicon Maybe · Dec 13, 2023

IG_in_AZ said:
US guys, Crutchfield has pretty good sales this time of year. Not affiliated, just a customer. I have a complete Focal system I purchased from them a few years ago, ready to install: speakers, amps, sub. I could do it myself, but I know myself well enough and take shortcuts when I get frustrated, and want it done right, once. So I will take it to a local professional car stereo shop to get them to connect everything to the head unit properly and in case they need a line out convertor, etc.

I purchased a Focal system and placed it in my Rubicon. It is an amazing sound system and blows away the sound system in my wife's Range Rover and my seven series BMW. Since the BMW is now gone, I will be following your lead with a larger amp, subwoofer, and Focal speakers.

Eric · Dec 13, 2023

Rubicon Maybe said:
I purchased a Focal system and placed it in my Rubicon. It is an amazing sound system and blows away the sound system in my wife's Range Rover and my seven series BMW. Since the BMW is now gone, I will be following your lead with a larger amp, subwoofer, and Focal speakers.

Was the RR a Meridian system by any chance? Surprised that the Focal system, whilst very good is noticeable better than a Meridian

Loc Nar · Dec 17, 2023

Here's another take on adding a sub, and upgrading the sound system (and throwing a boatload of cash at a Grenadier to see what sticks):

Rubicon Maybe · Dec 17, 2023

Eric said:
Was the RR a Meridian system by any chance? Surprised that the Focal system, whilst very good is noticeable better than a Meridian

Yes, but there a number of extras we added and also had a sound board engineer friend from one of the larger recording labels here in Nashville set up various equalizer settings. The RR sounds good however.

ChaosDogg · Dec 28, 2023

Desertfox said:
Thank you @ChaosDogg , did you change the speakers? I am assuming you added a Sub, how does it sound? I am going to add on the Pioneer, seems the easiest one requiring less space. But will wire in both left and right speaker wires to it, most probably the rear. I was thinking on adding JBL speakers, nothing too fancy but to get a clearer treble, as the Sub will take care of the base. Might add some Dynamat to the door panels while I am at it to deaden the vibration if any.

I got myself , but unfortunately the one I got didn't fit under the front seat. Turns out the clearance at the front of the driver seat isn't the same as the clearance on the back of the drivers seat. Currently it's just sitting in the footwell behind the driver seat until I figure out a better solution.

I did also soundproof most of the Gren as well, which I posted about here:

Sound Deadening

I added some sound deadening (Stage 1 only) to my Diesel Trialmaster. So far it "seems" quieter, but that could just be my brain trying to compensate for all the effort it took to get this done. Road noise seems to be not as sharp and a bit more dulled, I definitely hear the turbo whine a bit...

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