Installing Subwoofers - First Attempt :(

[bkVII]

First let's try to make it clear that I'm quite new to all these car modification stuff x_x and I drive a '95.

Recently I decided to do something I've never done before. I installed a new receiver-headpiece and removed my factory speakers (which were blown out anyway) in order to install newer, better sounding speakers. I replaced both the 4" speakers in the front , and the 6.5" speakers in the rear with some budget Pioneers and the sound is great: sharp, crisp highs and mids ... but absolutely NO LOWS! --barely any bass at all!

Installing the speakers was far-more time consuming than I had ever imagined, having to take apart my door panels, my back seats, side cushions, etc... I'm not handy-man, electrician OR car-savvy so I swore I wouldn't get a sub-woofer since I knew it would probably be even more difficult to do, and I might fail at it. But I can't take it anymore, so just a couple of minutes ago I ordered a budget-friendly Sub-woofer + Amp bundle from Crutchfield.com and will figure everything out once the package arrives.

From what I've read up on, the installation of a sub is simply connecting a wire from the receiver-headpiece to the amp. And a wire from amp to the battery? Then you connect the sub-woofers up to the amp? Here are my questions:

1) The power supply for the amp, will I be connecting the amp to the ACTUAL car battery?!
2) Will I have to run cables from the front of the car to the trunk? If so does anyone have a recommended route I could possibly take with the wires inside my '95 Corolla?
3) Will I have to drill any holes? (Ugh, the idea of drilling through anything intimidates me)
4) The box/compartment thing that my subs are sitting in, weighs I think about 60 lbs. Does that mean it's heavy enough so that I don't need to drill it into my trunk to keep it in place while I'm driving? How about my amp?
5) Assuming I'm able to get this set up; how do I determine how much highs/mids/lows come through each of my speakers (Front, Rear, Subs)?

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Originally Posted by bkVII

From what I've read up on, the installation of a sub is simply connecting a wire from the receiver-headpiece to the amp. And a wire from amp to the battery? Then you connect the sub-woofers up to the amp?

Correct. The RCA wires and remote wire come from the head-unit. The wires on the head-unit should be clearly labeled and coloured.

Originally Posted by bkVII

Here are my questions:

1) The power supply for the amp, will I be connecting the amp to the ACTUAL car battery?!
2) Will I have to run cables from the front of the car to the trunk? If so does anyone have a recommended route I could possibly take with the wires inside my '95 Corolla?
3) Will I have to drill any holes? (Ugh, the idea of drilling through anything intimidates me)
4) The box/compartment thing that my subs are sitting in, weighs I think about 60 lbs. Does that mean it's heavy enough so that I don't need to drill it into my trunk to keep it in place while I'm driving? How about my amp?
5) Assuming I'm able to get this set up; how do I determine how much highs/mids/lows come through each of my speakers (Front, Rear, Subs)?

1. Yes, the power supply for the amp connects directly to the car's battery. Make sure you use the fuse and fuse holder that came with the amp wiring kit. It goes in between the wire just before it connects to the battery - It should all be explained in the instructions. Also, always make sure that the positive terminal on the battery is disconnected when working on the car's electrical system (which includes putting the amp's power wire on the battery terminal).

2. Yes, the cables will need to be run from the front of the car to the back. Amp wiring kits are generally quite long in length and are more than sufficient for a Corolla. The best route to take would be down each side of the car. It is important to keep your speaker wires on one side of the car and your power wire on the other side. The plastic kick panel that you see when you open the door simply pops off and there is plenty of room to run cables down. All the interior panels along the side of the car pop off easily and hide your wires perfectly. Alternatively, you could go under the carpet but that is a fairly big job and not really worth the effort. The ground wire from the amp can be bolted to any bare metal area in the boot. For example, I have my amp under my passenger's seat, so I used one of the bolts that holds the seat in as a grounding point.

3. No drilling involved. The only hole you have to make is in the rubber bung that goes through the firewall - This is so that you can get your amp's power wire from the engine bay to the cabin. You can either use a small drill piece or just stab something sharp through it (around the same thickness as the wire). I recently put an amp in my 93 Corolla and found it surprisingly easy to get into the cabin. Some cars I've worked on have been a real pain in the ass. It'll come out of yours passenger's side foot-well. Just push the wire slowly and consistently, if you feel it curling up inside the firewall then pull it out and try again. If you're really having trouble, get an old coat hanger and clip the bottom off of it, then tape it to the power wire and push it through the firewall - This ensures that the wire is kept straight.

4. I'd recommend securing the box into the boot properly to prevent any damage to the sub or the boot of your car. All you'd have to do is screw through the sub-box into the wooden spare tyre-well cover (if you've got one). If you don't decide to secure it then make sure that your boot mat is secured so that it can't slide around. Putting a piece of carpet underneath the box works quite well, as do Velcro strips. The same thing applies for the amp.

5. Deciding on how the highs/mids/lows sound is entirely up to you. It's best to sit in your car with the doors closed and play with the settings via the head-unit until you find the sound you're after. Apart from the bass and treble settings etc, you can also decide how intense the sub is going to be and how much power gets distributed to either the front of rear speakers.


It's a pretty easy job for a beginner, and shouldn't take you too long. As I mentioned above, make sure the battery is disconnected before you work on the car's electrical system, and don't forget to use the fuse supplied in the amp's wiring kit.

All the best.

[midnightmach]

^ Great post

It was the one of the first things i did to my car. It seems crazy at first but it is simple. Take your time, the panels come off easily and it is so worth it when it is all working. Post back if you run into any problems.

[trife96]

Pretty well explained. Let me add something though. I didn't see no mention on the "power on" wire. In addition to the main power wire. There is another power wire. One will hook up to you battery. "the big wire". The other small wire is so that your amp only turns on when you turn the stereo on. Usually a blue colored wired. Splice a wire from the radio power wire to the amp "power on".

I feed my wires thru the same hole the engine harness comes thru...which means it comes on on driver side near the gas pedal. NOT the passenger side. Then I ran the wires thru the center console all the way to the back. You can use one of the mounting bolts for the rear seats for a ground for your amp.

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Originally Posted by trife96

Let me add something though. I didn't see no mention on the "power on" wire. In addition to the main power wire. There is another power wire. One will hook up to you battery. "the big wire". The other small wire is so that your amp only turns on when you turn the stereo on. Usually a blue colored wired. Splice a wire from the radio power wire to the amp "power on".

I mentioned that mate. It's called a remote wire .

[bkVII]

Thanks Kiwi-Corolla, that post is intense!! It will prove as VERY helpful when everything arrives in the mail, I'm sure. Some questions to clarify, though x_x:

A) When you refer to the ground wire and mention I can bolt it to any bare metal in the boot. The boot refers to my trunk, correct? lol

B) In regards to placing a hole in the rubber bung that goes through the firewall, I'm not completely positive on what either rubber bung, or firewall is. From what I've gathered, it sounds like the firewall is simply the wall separating the engine bay and the driver cabin --but I do want to be sure. And perhaps "rubber bung" simply refers to the material this firewall is made of?

C) As I guide the wires from the battery AROUND my engine and through the firewall into the front cabin, are there any certain areas under my hood I should want to avoid running the wires through or around for any reasons?

D) You mention that the wire for the power supply will come through the passenger's foot-well. Am I right to assume that the power supply will run around the RIGHT side of my car requiring me to connect the head-unit cables around the LEFT side of my car in turn, to avoid interference in the sound?

E) Now I've got a pretty decent picture in my head as to how I'll run the power-supply cable to my trunk, but I'm still a little anxious in regards to running my head-unit cables to the back. Installing my head unit was a pain in the rear end :\ Not a whole lot of room to work with. How would you recommend doing this? And they'll need to go around the driver's side, correct? I can't imagine there would be any holes in the driver-side foot-well already punched out ready for the head receiver cables to come through?

F) When I mentioned determining how much highs/mids/lows come through each of my speakers (Front, Rear, Subs), I meant it in that I'm a little concerned that my 6.5" rear speakers will try to play the low notes along with my subs and cut out sounding ugly. Will this happen? or will the receiver recognize sub-woofers are connected and thus give them the major bass-load?

Sorry for all the meticulous questions x_x I just want to be absolutely sure I do this right. It'll be a good learning experience if I complete this little project successfully.

My package should arrive by this weekend, and I'll let everyone know how it turns out!

[4Cyl'erThriller]

Not sure about the carolla but on my 93 Camry I had to take off the driver side front wheel and under the splash guard there is a hole through the firewall. You can normally sniff it out from the inside of the car then shove something thru and find it on the other side. Good luck with the install. Oh also I ran the remote and rcas thru under the carpet right next to the passenger side door.

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Originally Posted by bkVII

Thanks Kiwi-Corolla, that post is intense!! It will prove as VERY helpful when everything arrives in the mail, I'm sure. Some questions to clarify, though x_x:

A) When you refer to the ground wire and mention I can bolt it to any bare metal in the boot. The boot refers to my trunk, correct? lol

B) In regards to placing a hole in the rubber bung that goes through the firewall, I'm not completely positive on what either rubber bung, or firewall is. From what I've gathered, it sounds like the firewall is simply the wall separating the engine bay and the driver cabin --but I do want to be sure. And perhaps "rubber bung" simply refers to the material this firewall is made of?

C) As I guide the wires from the battery AROUND my engine and through the firewall into the front cabin, are there any certain areas under my hood I should want to avoid running the wires through or around for any reasons?

D) You mention that the wire for the power supply will come through the passenger's foot-well. Am I right to assume that the power supply will run around the RIGHT side of my car requiring me to connect the head-unit cables around the LEFT side of my car in turn, to avoid interference in the sound?

E) Now I've got a pretty decent picture in my head as to how I'll run the power-supply cable to my trunk, but I'm still a little anxious in regards to running my head-unit cables to the back. Installing my head unit was a pain in the rear end : Not a whole lot of room to work with. How would you recommend doing this? And they'll need to go around the driver's side, correct? I can't imagine there would be any holes in the driver-side foot-well already punched out ready for the head receiver cables to come through?

F) When I mentioned determining how much highs/mids/lows come through each of my speakers (Front, Rear, Subs), I meant it in that I'm a little concerned that my 6.5" rear speakers will try to play the low notes along with my subs and cut out sounding ugly. Will this happen? or will the receiver recognize sub-woofers are connected and thus give them the major bass-load?

Sorry for all the meticulous questions x_x I just want to be absolutely sure I do this right. It'll be a good learning experience if I complete this little project successfully.

My package should arrive by this weekend, and I'll let everyone know how it turns out!

You're very welcome. To answer your next set of questions:

A. Yep, I was referring to the trunk when I said "boot". Forgot that you don't call them that over there in the states, lol.

B. Correct - The firewall is simply the metal between the cabin and engine bay. The rubber bung I was speaking of carries the factory wires from the engine bay into the cabin. All it basically does is cover the factory wires so that they don't get wet etc. I chose to use the rubber bung directly behind where the intake pipe is. I just went outside and took a quick photo to show you what I mean. It can be viewed here:http://tinyurl.com/y87ruvq

C. If you use the same rubber bung that I chose to use, the power wire won't have to trail through your engine bay at all. It just goes over the gearbox and into the rubber bung in the firewall. I'd recommend using a zip tie to secure the wire to a hose or something similar, just so it can't drape down. Pull any excess wire into the cabin, or leave it bundled inside the firewall. This is so that it can't get caught in your radiator fan or touch on the exhaust manifold.

D. Correct. But it mainly only matters that you have your speaker wires separate (which they would be as I assume the wiring for them is factory), for the reason that you mentioned - To avoid interference. It doesn't cause any problems to run the RCA cables and remote wire on the same side as the power wire. I actually have my RCA cables and remote wire running down the same size as my power wire and have no interference whatsoever.

E. The wires coming from the back of the head-unit will be the RCA cable and remote wire. All you have to do is connect them to the head-unit, tuck the wire down the back so it comes out the side of your dashboard (where your head-deck is) and run it across the driver's side foot-well (above where your pedals are). There are a couple of things you can tie the wire to so that it doesn't sag down. Then you just remove the kick panel (the piece of plastic you see when you open the door - refer to the photo that bkVII put up) and run your cables underneath it to the trunk. You should see other wires running in the same direction which have been put there when the car was made. Just follow those and you'll be as good as gold.

F. If your sub is the only thing hooked up to the amp then you shouldn't have a problem. The rear speakers will still have some form of bass to them as they're driven by the head-unit, but it certainly won't cause them to cut-out or distort due to the sub. Most head-units have a bass adjustment separate to the sub adjustment.


No worries about the questions by the way, ask as many as you like. The hardest part is trying to answer them in a way that is easy to understand. It sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is. You'll be surprised at how easy it is, and will be armed with knowledge for next time.

Good luck.

[gameguru1360]

how much power is that amp giving to your sub?? do you know what gauge power wire you were installing??

4ga is a good size for running up to 1000 rms watts.

Also helps to do the Big 3 electrical upgrade if you're going to be running about 1000 rms watts.

Anything above 1000 rms watts should have 1ga power wire installed.

I wouldn't worry about doing the Big 3 if your sub + amp combo from crutchfield is a budget system. The stock alt of corollas only puts out a measely 70a, so the Big 3 wouldn't really pertain to your setup. The Big 3 upgrade basically upgrades the factory power wire in the engine to a thicker gauge. I believe the factory wire is only 6ga and the Big 3 suggests using 1 or 0ga which basically just lowers the resistance and also reduces your lights from dimming. It's a cheap alternative to upgrading your starter battery to an AGM battery or upgrading your stock alternator to a high output alternator.

[gold94corolla]

Hey, I was in the same boat as you. Take a look at my detailed DIY with pictures here!

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/801395/8#Sub