2005 X5 sub install in non-premium (non-DSP) system

[alpac]

Congrat btrvalik next step is to replace these poor 2 factory drivers by a real good 8" or even 10" which will make the bass much better.

[btrvalik]

So I listened to everlast on the way home.. Now I'm sitting at home listening to the same music I listened to in the X5... guess the stock sub is lame. Time to order a JL...now to find the time to install...maybe they won't notice if I disappear once the turkey is served

[btrvalik]

Just installed a 8" JL Audio w3 woofer.. Now the sub goes much deeper than before. I'm sure it will sound even better once it is broken in. So just to recap... This upgrade basically happened in two phases....

1) Install an Alpine mono sub amp ($200) with a used factory sub ($100 + $30 shipping). The amp went in nicely under the load-floor on the drivers side. This took about 4 hrs to install, run to the store, clean up etc



2) I lived with that for a few days and decided to upgrade the sub. I decided on a 8" JL Audio unit due to the volume of the box, but others have had success with 10" units. The 10" JL units I looked at were too deep for the box. The JL audio 8w3 cost $149. I determined the center line of the opening on the rear panel and marked the factory box before I removed it. I cut out 2 6.24 " circles out of 3/4 plywood to fill the factory holes. I then place the gasket of the JL sub on the centerline and traced the inner diameter on the box. back to the band-saw I removed the material from the wood filler circles and used a little hand saw to remove the area between the stock sub holes. Next I epoxied the wood fillers to the factory box. I then reinforced the underside with epoxy putty. This resulted in a super strong and stiff front of the box. I then sprayed the box with some black paint. This took me the best part of today 6 hrs or so. The results can be seen here...



In the end the biggest bang for buck/effort ( $330 / 4hrs) was from no sub to the factory sub driven from the Alpine amp. Worked fine for most music. would not win any contest but it filled out the factory (non-premium) system. I think most people would be happy with the sound at this point. I still was looking for something better so this brought the project up to $480 and about 10 hrs of work. Overall the JL sub addition was a worthwhile effort for me. Biggest difference was less "wrong" mid/lower bass and some deeper bass. Still not real sub-bass and still not up to my house system but about at good as I need it in a car. Overall I'm happy with the mod!

P.S. I changed the name of the thread so others can find this info easier

[alpac]

Excellent job congrat

[FeelGoodUnInc]

wow i love it

[btrvalik]

Someone on Xworld PM'ed me that they had one available. You should try the for sale section. I also considered buying one from the dealer.. about $350. Unless you are really handy with fiberglass I don't think you can get the same amount of volume as the stock or a custom box. In my area a custom box was very expensive.