Hi all, i have a 98 es300 and just wondering if its a good idea to just replace the stock 8" sub with a free air sub and aftermarket amp. I hear they don't sound as well as a sealed sub. Has anyone done this?

 

Free-air/infinite baffle subwoofer set-ups have been discussed here many times. I would suggest doing a search.

 

has been covered a trillion times but i'll tell you what. if you like bass(not noise but clean good bass regardless of whether at low or high volumes ), save your self the stress of having to tear apart the rear end to mount a free air sub and then realiozing you want more from it. just get a box and put the subs in it. been there, done that.
good luck
olddog

 

Here's where I gave some info on IB subs - link.

A sub mounted in the rear deck (infinite baffle alignment) is in fact a sealed sub with a very large enclosure. It has all of the characteristics of a sealed sub in a low Q alignment. I'm not sure where you heard they didn't sound as good as a sealed sub, but with the proper installation they should sound great. First, you have taken the box out of the equation. The enclosure is large enough so it has no effect on the driver. You are just relying on the driver's suspension and the amp's damping factor to control the cone's movement. What you need is a sub with a quiet suspension. Most quality subs will have this. You also need to dampen your rear deck. Upgrading the sub puts more stress on the deck since the new driver should have more excursion. Elemental Designs has a couple of options with their driver mounted to an MDF plate. The plate adds weight and strength to the mounting hole. You can add something like that as well as sound deadening material.

-Robert