8" subwoofer in X5/X3 good enough?

[Foose]

Just completed my install of zerochief's enclosure and a 8" Kicker CVR 200w rms.

I am very disappointed. After adjusting the gain properly with a DMM there's only a slight amount bass coming from the sub. The LPF is set at around 60hz.

I can minimally hear the bass from up front. It gets worse with the side panel on. I'm hoping it's because I went wrong somewhere during the install. I followed BSW's instructions. The specific wires were t-tapped according to BSW's wiring diagram. The amp and speaker level input was grounded to the factory ground bolt right under the plastic pull handle for the spare. Is this the problem?

I wasn't expecting car rattling bass but wanted something to fill the cabin.

[m5james]

Hey Foose, you ever get this solved? I'm very pleased with my 8" L5 in a modified stock enclosure. I'm sure it had to be a wiring issue for you.

[Foose]

I think the sub needed some time to break in. Later on I played a bass heavy song and used a DMM to see what rms the amp was putting out. It was less than the rated continuous rms so I bumped up the gain.

Now it sounds much better! I am very satisfied with my setup. A definite improvement over stock. I only spent ~250 for the whole setup:

Phoenix Gold Amp V752
Kicker amp wiring kit
Kicker CVR 8" Sub
Zerochief Custom Enclosure
Phoenix Gold RSD6 components for the front and coaxial for the back

If there's one con its the positioning of the sub. If you really want to hear it then hiding all the way in the back and behind a panel isn't ideal. A stealth install was definitely a higher priority for me.

[m5james]

I installed a nice mesh grill over my panel so it didn't baffle the sound at all. I got a 10" grill because the corners of my 8" square subwoofer we're closer to 10" anyways.

10" Speaker Steel Mesh 2 Piece Woofer Grill New M10: eBay Motors (item 380243809080 end time Jul-17-10 17:04:40 PDT) - it's a nice fine mesh and comes in three pieces so I could hide the mounting hardware.