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Quick supercheap subwoofer and head unit install

venomous

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i decided to get a sub and new head unit for my vt, I was actually impressed with the standard speakers but needed a bit more bass, Anyway here are a few pics of the install and what i bought to fit it, all from super cheap.

poking a hole in the rubber grommet was really difficult and took ages, i had to use a really long screw driver and a sharp blade but there is not much room in there, once you put the power wire through the grommet you can no longer put the plastic clip on and cannot plug it back in the hole, it doesn't quite fit in the hole properly without the clip so i am still trying to think of a solution for that.

i didn't want to hack up my stock harness so i went and bought a harness kit for pioneer to commodore, the first one fit my harness but not my deck, so i bought another one and that fit my deck but not my stock harness, I spliced both harnesses so its still all plug and play but it took a while to solder it all up and heat shrink it, however i think its worth the piece of mind.

The new replacement cage with pocket to replace the double din head unit does NOT fit perfectly, the supplied screws are way to big and there is no room when you try to slide it in, i had a lot of issues securing my deck, i had to make a few contraptions with metal brackets of my own and it is very frustrating to remove and put back in, however it does fit very nicely flush with the rest of the trim when finally installed.

i haven't had time to tune the whole setup yet but when i had just the new deck with the stock speakers they sounded REALLY good on their own, but now after adding the sub they sound a little limited or maybe its just the sub drowning out the speakers.

The sub itself sounds a little muffled for my liking and maxes out at around 35 on the deck, the sub pretty much stops making bass when you go higher than 35, Im not sure if this is a tuning issue or if the amp that comes built into the sub box is not powerful enough.

in conclusion i think its about what you would expect for a 200-230 dollar sub with box and amp built in, and a sub 100 dollar head unit ( was 89 when i got it ), I was initially going to get the 2 x 10" versions of these subs but my super cheap didn't have them in stock at the time, i would have preferred a much punchier setup but im hoping with a bit of tinkering on the head unit i can make it sound nicer.

Would anyone be able to recommend some good speaker replacements for the front and rear ? im not looking to go full component with tweeters that i have to install, i would even be willing to try the stock standard speakers but brand new units to see how good they could sound.

Fusion 12" in a Box EN-AB1122 - $216
Pioneer USB/AUX MVHX195UI Head Unit - $119.99
VT-VX Single Din Facia to replace double din head unit - $34.65
Aerpro Wiring Harness APP062 - $17.45
Aerpro Wiring Harness - APP8PIO - $17.45
SCA Solder - 17g - $8.49
SCA Soldering Iron - 240V, 30W -$21.49
SCA Heat Shrink Tubing - 3.2mm, Red - $7.99

Total : $439.52

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wires4.jpg
tuckcables.jpg
sub.jpg
soldered.jpg
rearofsub.jpg
headunitpocket.jpg
harnesses2.jpg
harnesses.jpg
gloveboxn3screwes.jpg
enginebay.jpg
wires4.jpg tuckcables.jpg sub.jpg soldered.jpg rearofsub.jpg headunitpocket.jpg harnesses2.jpg harnesses.jpg gloveboxn3screwes.jpg enginebay.jpg
 

dr364

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Nice write up. However if you get an opportunity next time, it might be a good idea to run the RCA wiring away from the power wiring and not down the same side to prevent any later possibility of engine noise being introduced into the signal - although probably not so much of an issue with a sub.

I note Aerpro do different patch harnesses for a variety of Pioneer head units, so it unfortunately sounds like you got the wrong one for yours.

The only information I could find is that your amp is rated to about 150WRMS, so its only a baby amp, therefore I'm not surprised its maxing out.

As for speaker choice, its all personal preference. Effective do you want you want quality or quantity (SQ vs SPL)? While people could throw all types of brand names at you, your best bet is to go to a few audio shops and listen to some different brands and types on a demo board. Also please reconsider getting a set of components, its not all that hard to replace the tweeters in a VT-VZ and you know that the tweeter will be matched to the woofer.

In all I think you should be pleased with your efforts if this is your first install, its a good learning experience, and coming from someone who's done probably half a dozen installs over the years, you can and will learn to improve your knowledge and skill, and also it pays to do plenty of research beforehand.
 

venomous

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Thanks bud!

I know i could probably go out and buy a set of alpine type r splits and get it over with but im looking to find out which speakers would compare to the stock ones, i think jaycar used to do some that were similar but i think they needed to be amped.

i should have ran rca on the other side but even when reading other guides i could not find a suitable grommet to use on the driver side, Ill do a bit of reading on replacing the stock tweeters as!

edit : i thought the harnesses for branded stuff were all the same? damnit lol.
 
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