Ok so there are a plethora of threads that address the issue of the ML sub. So after a week of owning my 02 UL, I decided I would change it out, it wasn't blown but it just had no low end and the rattle from the rear deck was too much for me. I couldn't find any basic full install examples on any of the threads so I decided to make one about it.

I'm a former competitive car stereo guy, late teens & early 20's consisted of 15's and 12's, with lots of power. My last LS I had a JL Audio IB4 10 in the rear deck and it gave great low end and provided the bass I needed being in my 30's. Now in my mid 30's and being an engineer by day and a music/audio/mix engineer in my spare time I decided I would go with the best woofer I could get and fit in the exist 8' cut out.

As its the winter I didn't want to redo the whole system (my garage is my gym), so i had to do this in my driveway. My main issue with the full range ML set up is around 8K it's too sibilant in many cases and seems inaccurate and a little too bright. Honestly I can live with it. With some dynamat on the doors the mid drivers provide decent bass and perform better than any stock setup ive heard. (Paper is more accurate (fact))

I went with 2awg wire (in case i ever did want to run another) amp. LC2i Audio Control LOC with accubass and remote install in the accessory panel where the ashtray is. Orion XTR 500.1 Monoblock amp, with a Alpine Type R 8" woofer. The is amp dropped down to 1ohm running in series to the dual 2ohm voice coils of the Alpine woofer.

I meant to take more pics but i got going and spaced it out in many points of the install; here are some that I have.

 

 

 

 

Nice! How easy was it to run the power wire from front to back? Especially ripping out the back seat...

I need to put my JLs in my car, but haven't gotten around to it.

For all those that don't use the factory mount, do you use those wires for a hi/lo converter (RCA)? And for the 12v source?

 

looks neater than 80 percent of DIY installs i see. good job.

 

Yeah i would have liked to have hidden the amp as well, there just wasn't any place that it could be placed with out doing a full on custom install and that was not what I was in this for. I wanted a simple 1,2,3 set up.

Running a power wire isn't hard all, snaking it through the rubber gasket by the battery is the toughest part. There is not much space there.

Back seats are fairly straight forward if you take your time, they take about 30 min to remove and 20-30 min to put back. There are tons of tutorials on this forum.

The four sub wires coming of the amp can be run into a hi level input on an amp or you can get an LOC. The LC2i is by the far the best LOC for just adding a sub, the accubass works great. I noticed that you have to run an ACC wire, the speaker level voltage from the ML amp is not strong enough to trigger a constant signal to the LC2i and the amp. I got the ACC from the amp turn on wire at the fuse panel in the trunk.

 

Sorry, i am a noob to the LS430 electronics. All my bmws had the batteries and amps in the trunk, so it was cake.

Do you have a picture or did you see one on the forum that specified which wire is which coming off the amp and the amp wire from the fuse panel?

I am sure once i am in there, it will make sense. I need to order new power wire to run to the back, and then i will tackle this too

 

I don't have a pic, its gray thats all I remember. Just put a volt meter on a circuit that reads O volts with the car off and reads 12 Volts when you put the car in ACC and that will work as well

 

I have the stock sub and there is some rear deck buzzing on certain songs with a certain bass frequencies. The buzzing barely audible from the front seat but noticeable from the back seat.

To clarify, the buzzing is not the sub, just the rear deck.

Can you recommend a specific soundproofing product+placement to eliminate the rear deck rattle?

 

The buzzing could be the surround starting to separate on the stock sub (a common issue) if so you can redo the surround (a $20 fix). If its more a rattle or vibrations then yes dynamat is the way to go. Dynamat is overpriced and products like Rammat and Megamat (made by fat mat) are the same product for a fraction of the cost.

If you have the rear sun shade then rattles might be inevitable, i am going to add more dynamat to my rear deck and the bracket the sunshade sits in on mine when i get a nice warm day and some time.

 

Hi I have 02 gs430 and I'm doing same install as u except with a 10 "sub and I'm not having any luck wit my loc at all I tried tapping speaker leads in rear doors from the factory amp sounded like sh"t sub barley pushed air I'm wondering what's the wires u connected into ur loc those 4 small wires inside the larger grey one thanks in advance

 

I tapped into the 4 subwoofer wires coming from the amp, in the LS430 the amp is above the rear passenger side wheel well.

 

did you take a photo of this or know the colors of the wires?

 

^This would be very helpful...I've been dragging my feet to do this install.

My subs are collecting dust! :P