mrchacon

98 es300...

subwoofer in the back under the 3rd brake light blew... what size is it and how can i replace it? it there a certain sub i need or will any work?

mrchacon

i have a bazooka tube with 2 8inch woofers inside laying around the house - would i be able to take a sub outta there and replace the blown one?

Pyroibw

you can, but its going to sound like crap. but the stock sub is awful anyway, so go for it.

QuachmanES

iTrader: (4)

It's an 8 inch open-air sub. Be careful if you're using boxed subs, because it'll sound even worse.

I replaced mine with an 8 inch Kicker, and just dropped it in. It was a little annoying to get it to fit, because the original sub has a metal bracket that's attached to the rear deck. Also, the bracket has 2 plastic tabs that clip onto the brake light/speaker cover housing, so it may be a little loose without the bracket.

but it's definitely worth switching it out, I have a big improvement.

mrchacon

great.

anyone wanna write up a DIY for this install - along with some ideas to mount it down correctly?

QuachmanES

iTrader: (4)

Since the sub doesn't screw directly into the rear deck because of the bracket from the old sub, I just kind of wedged it in. The hole was a smaller than the rim of the sub, but had some space between the edge and the sub itself, if you get what I'm saying.

I was able to get 3 screws in through the holes in the sub and kind of wedge it into the hole. It doesn't move or rattle at all, and is in pretty tight. I still haven't figured out a good way to reliably keep the speaker cover from moving, and it still moves every once in a while.

freestyle

the kicker you used is an open air sub?? do you remember the model? the sub blew in my 2000 es300 with the nakamichi system, i loved the way it sounded, but i cant seem to find one to replace it with

angmedic91

iTrader: (5)

Crutchfield.com has 8" Subs, but just an FYI, get a sub that is 4ohms and has an RMS that starts as low as 35 or 40 watts; if your using the stock Nakamichi amp or you'll end up frying your OEM amp like I did.

llcoolpass

oh would you explain why 40W?

angmedic91

iTrader: (5)

The stock Nakamichi amp on the 97-99 ES300 puts out 60 watts max @ 2 ohms. I bought an after market sub that was wired in 2 ohms with a RMS starting at 80 -150 watts and it cooked my amp within minutes. So I was told I needed to get a sub with a low starting RMS and in 4 ohms to prevent any stress on the amp. I also came across a DIY on a LS forum where the guy was upgrading his stock sub with an aftermarket sub and also stated to get a sub with a low RMS that matches the output of the OEM amp. I ended up installing a JL Audio sub 4 ohms, with a RMS starting at 40 watts and have not cooked my replaced OEM Nakamichi amp.

Ariyanna

Does it sound better or the same as stock?

angmedic91

iTrader: (5)

I think it sounds better than the OEM, to the point it makes the third brake light/speaker grill rattle. I need to stick some Dynamat underneath that grill to deaden the rattles. Then again nothing compares to 2 10" or 12" subs in a box. But better than OEM.

freestyle

i just checked my 2000 es300 and the sub is made by nakamichi and it says its 2 ohm on the back of the sub, and i cant find somehting to replace it with!!!!

angmedic91

iTrader: (5)

I got my 8" sub from crutchfield.com I intially bought a dual voice coil sub wired in parallel to give me 2 ohms, but had an RMS starting at about 80 watts. Well, after a couple minutes of music, the head unit turned off and smoke was coming out of the vent underneath the passenger side windshield above the glove box. Long story, short, amp caught fire. Was told the subwoofer stressed the amp and overheated it, which then caught fire. After research, found out to get a 4 ohm subwoofer with an RMS starting as low as 35 or 40 watts, will not stress the amp and overheat it. I got a JL Audio 8 inch sub, with an RMS that starts at 40 watts and have not had any problems with my used OEM ebay replacement amp. The stock Nakamichi amp max sub output is 60 watts at 2 ohms, not a lot of power to power a high powered sub.

freestyle

if you dont mind me asking how much as the JL sub? how does it sound compared to the stock nakamichi? also do you have a link to the sub? and was it a direct replacement?