The rear center subwoofer rebuild in pictures...

[ExMX5owner]

The Problem

The solution.

That's enough for today, I will pick it up again on the morrow.. right now I have go and study the effects of dihydrogen monoxide on ceramics, various alloys,and plastics in a controlled environment...

 

[ExMX5owner]

Test fit of forward fire woof..

 

[ExMX5owner]

Forward firing going in..

Rear firing in...

Pretty easy really, just got to wrap in foam in a couple of places, and it should go back in the hole it came out of... With the appropriate amount of force.... Just a note though, if you do this "observe the phase" the front firing driver has to be polarity reversed... But yeah !!!!!, it sounds like I have tucked away a 12" driver in the boot...

 

[Althulas]

It’s Boot mounted? I was wondering on how you was going to fit a twin sub in the standard location.

 

[ExMX5owner]

It’s Boot mounted? I was wondering on how you was going to fit a twin sub in the standard location.

No not boot mounted, It goes back in the space in came out of, the factory one has just 1 driver with 2 voice coils. about a 4"incher. the original driver pionts aft and is in phase with the two behind the seats, with a passive radiator or "drone cone" to the front. a replacement was impossible to get so I upgraded the system with two larger drivers. chucked out the drone cone, wired one driver backwards so it works in tandem with the other one, as opposed to against it with original phase maintained..

 

[ExMX5owner]

And yes it all went back in the same hole it came out of , just quite a bit heavier,, extra external damping applied to kill off the tupperware box sound.. If anyone else want to upgrade the bass driver without anything being apparent, yell out, Ill walk you through it..

 

[Althulas]

Do you think the same mod be applied to one of Susan’s boxes?

 

[ExMX5owner]

Do you think the same mod be applied to one of Susan’s boxes?

Possibly, as long as the unit fits, the rear driver is the only thing that protrudes a few mm from original...

 

[Tom Cheesewright]

This is super cool and definitely an upgrade on my approach. I've done a simpler version: just some 3D-printed brackets to allow a replacement driver to go in where the old one failed without any mods to the box - doesn't look like you had to mod it but I know others have. 3MF file attached if anyone wants it. Just needs some wood screws slightly longer than the originals.

Ignore the white stuff on the sub in the photos. It's dry shampoo from the 3D scan, not marching powder.

 

[ExMX5owner]

This is super cool and definitely an upgrade on my approach. I've done a simpler version: just some 3D-printed brackets to allow a replacement driver to go in where the old one failed without any mods to the box - doesn't look like you had to mod it but I know others have. 3MF file attached if anyone wants it. Just needs some wood screws slightly longer than the originals.

Ignore the white stuff on the sub in the photos. It's dry shampoo from the 3D scan, not marching powder.

View attachment 257849
View attachment 257851

So did you leave the passive radiator on the other side of the box, ?..

 

[Tom Cheesewright]

So did you leave the passive radiator on the other side of the box, ?..

Yep. Didn't touch that. It was still in good condition.

 

[ExMX5owner]

Yep. Didn't touch that. It was still in good condition.

Mine was fine as well, but the driver was a phillips dual coil, identified as being fed by left and right channels, ie: 4 wires to it. Fitting a second driver 180 degrees out of phase facing forward off one channel was a work around on being unable to get a replacement. the result is quite impressive for a small unit.I like the 3D printed inserts, my first attempt resulted in the box farting a bit with leaks, resolved with foam gaskets...

 

[Tom Cheesewright]

Mine was fine as well, but the driver was a phillips dual coil, identified as being fed by left and right channels, ie: 4 wires to it. Fitting a second driver 180 degrees out of phase facing forward off one channel was a work around on being unable to get a replacement. the result is quite impressive for a small unit.I like the 3D printed inserts, my first attempt resulted in the box farting a bit with leaks, resolved with foam gaskets...

Neither of my cars came with a sub, so I don't have the existing amp and wiring. I just bought a knackered one when it came up cheap on eBay. I figure it'll work fine with the new driver and radiator with whatever amp I dump into it. Not going to be an original head unit either (I'm doing a double din conversion, which I really must finish).

Definitely going to need some foam and probably some silicone to seal around the cable entry.

 

[ExMX5owner]

Neither of my cars came with a sub, so I don't have the existing amp and wiring. I just bought a knackered one when it came up cheap on eBay. I figure it'll work fine with the new driver and radiator with whatever amp I dump into it. Not going to be an original head unit either (I'm doing a double din conversion, which I really must finish).

Definitely going to need some foam and probably some silicone to seal around the cable entry.

Well working from scratch then with a dedicated sub channel you will get better results if you wire the sub backwards, since it is facing backwards, this puts the drone cone in phase with the two speakers behind the seats, otherwise they tend to cancel each other out..

 

[Tom Cheesewright]

Interesting. I would have thought with low frequency sounds, there wouldn't be much effect, since most subs aren't firing directly anyway?

 

[ExMX5owner]

Interesting. I would have thought with low frequency sounds, there wouldn't be much effect, since most subs aren't firing directly anyway?

Yes this is correct to degree, It depends on where you cross over to the sub, and other factors like if the rear left right have a high pass filter or any x/o at all. Its difficult to localize sound below 100hz or so, however they still cancel each other out even if they can get down that far effectively, cancellation also occurs around the x/o piont witch is easily audible. I measured with a UMIK and a test CD, only SPL though as the car stereo does not have an interface for better evaluation..SPL was improved in my instance at low frequencies, trying it both ways before you commit might be an idea... Obviously you don't need to dismantle the speaker, you can reverse the wiring outside of the box, solder and heatshrink after you have evaluated, as I did..

All this being said, I am "apparently" anal about my hifi systems, even the one in my car...

 

[Tom Cheesewright]

Ha! I'm probably not quite that anal. But worth experimenting with.

Have you upgraded the drivers anywhere else?

 

[ExMX5owner]

Ha! I'm probably not quite that anal. But worth experimenting with.

Have you upgraded the drivers anywhere else?

No, the other 8 are all in pretty good nick. Whilst I don't expect a car stereo to evoke goosebumps, shivers or tears. I see no reason why it should not sound as good as it can given the restraints of being in a car, and not wanting to deviate too far from factory visually and otherwise. Pretty happy with it now, nice bass response, not mushy or boomy, articulate mid, and reasonably crisp highs, certainly there is still room for improvement, but implementing those would only add credence my wife's allegations.

 

[Scooblitz]

Some nice ideas to make this all snug. Also have the Harmon Kardboard sound system but wouldn't want to move way from the oem cabin aesthetic so this would suit the bill.

My sub isn't broken (yet) so quite far down the to do list.

 

[ExMX5owner]

Some nice ideas to make this all snug. Also have the Harmon Kardboard sound system but wouldn't want to move way from the oem cabin aesthetic so this would suit the bill.

My sub isn't broken (yet) so quite far down the to do list.

The Hk system has a ported sub box does it not ?. I was trying to find one of those to replace the one I have, or at least look at the possibility.....