NX - 1st Gen (2015-2021)

Disconnecting tailgate subwoofer?

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Old 10-16-18, 03:52 PM
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Danny200t
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Default Disconnecting tailgate subwoofer?

Hi, I have a 2015 NX and I’m wondering if anyone has disconnected or removed the sub from the back? I feel like all it does it rattle the trunk, I tried playing a song with the tailgate open when you can’t hear the subwoofer and it sounds a lot better without it. Thanks

Last edited by Danny200t; 10-16-18 at 04:03 PM.
Old 10-16-18, 09:22 PM
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Doug007
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Originally Posted by Danny200t
Hi, I have a 2015 NX and I’m wondering if anyone has disconnected or removed the sub from the back? I feel like all it does it rattle the trunk, I tried playing a song with the tailgate open when you can’t hear the subwoofer and it sounds a lot better without it. Thanks
Hi Danny - before you do that, try putting foam weatherstripping on the back of your license plate/license plate frame. I had the same problem and it was fixed.
Old 10-17-18, 02:05 PM
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Danny200t
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Originally Posted by Doug007
Hi Danny - before you do that, try putting foam weatherstripping on the back of your license plate/license plate frame. I had the same problem and it was fixed.
thanks for the suggestion, i’ve already tried that and i’ve also put some rubber pieces around the subwoofer grill and it helped a lot but it’s still rattling at higher volumes.
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Old 10-19-18, 03:08 AM
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ramses974
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the subwoofer is not really efficient, and its adds some "gain in bass" not in the subwoofer section
Old 10-19-18, 02:27 PM
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digidoc
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I cut the wires close to the factory amp and then used those wires as a high level signal for a new amp and a proper subwoofer. That way I got a good signal in the appropriate range for a sub and got rid of the useless factory one in the process. Let me know if you need wiring diagrams if you decide to go this route.
Old 10-20-18, 08:37 AM
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Danny200t
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Originally Posted by digidoc
I cut the wires close to the factory amp and then used those wires as a high level signal for a new amp and a proper subwoofer. That way I got a good signal in the appropriate range for a sub and got rid of the useless factory one in the process. Let me know if you need wiring diagrams if you decide to go this route.
Yes, a wiring diagram would be great. Thank you
Old 10-20-18, 10:17 AM
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Originally Posted by Danny200t
Hi, I have a 2015 NX and I’m wondering if anyone has disconnected or removed the sub from the back? I feel like all it does it rattle the trunk, I tried playing a song with the tailgate open when you can’t hear the subwoofer and it sounds a lot better without it. Thanks
Had the same rattle issue on my 2018. Brought it back to the dealer and they isolated it at no cost. They knew about the issue and weren’t surprised by my problem and request. Done free of charge. Now I would say that 98% of the rattle sound is gone. If I push the sound (above 50 on the 60 max volume chart) on a song with a lot of bass, it might rattle a little bit but I’m good by brigning down the volume to 45 ...
Old 10-21-18, 07:31 AM
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digidoc
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Default Sub Wiring Diagram

Originally Posted by Danny200t


Yes, a wiring diagram would be great. Thank you
Here you go. The speaker in the red box is the sub. The amp is located behind the right rear panel.
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Old 10-21-18, 06:09 PM
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Originally Posted by digidoc
Here you go. The speaker in the red box is the sub. The amp is located behind the right rear panel.
Thank you for this! Keep it up.
Old 10-24-18, 11:53 AM
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Djkb
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Originally Posted by digidoc
I cut the wires close to the factory amp and then used those wires as a high level signal for a new amp and a proper subwoofer. That way I got a good signal in the appropriate range for a sub and got rid of the useless factory one in the process. Let me know if you need wiring diagrams if you decide to go this route.
Hi, quick question, did you actually mount the additional amp in the same location and just replace the factory installed sub with a better quality unit or fit the new sub elsewhere ? I am also disappointed with the factory sub and looking at the easiest and most convenient way to upgrade. Which amp and sub did you go for and are you now happy with the output?
thanks in advance!!
Old 10-24-18, 07:55 PM
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digidoc
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I actually removed the spare tire and installed a sub in a box where the tire was. The sub box is bolted to the spare tire bracket. The sub is an Audiofrog GB12D4 run at 2 Ohms and the amp is a DD Audio DM1000a.

In addition, I did a complete rework of the Lexus system and am running all of the channels through a JL Audio TwK-88 out to 4 separate amps. I installed new tweeters in the A pillars along with Audiofrog GB40s in the dash corners, and Audiofrog GS60s in the front door. It is a fully active system, and I am still able to use the Lexus Surround Sound processing which gives me really good sound in all of the seating positions.

To answer your question about the new sub and how the sound compares to the factory, it is not even close. The new sub hits low and hard and is still quite musical. I wanted a Sound Quality system, but it is also quite loud. I'm very happy with the result.

I'll take some pics tomorrow to post.

Last edited by digidoc; 10-24-18 at 07:59 PM.
Old 10-25-18, 06:36 AM
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Djkb
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Your setup sounds exactly to what I would love, And i can see that a lot of thought and time has gone into this installation.
It must now sound how it was intended too by Lexus hahaha.....

Yes photos would be great! Thanks for the quick reply also.

I now need to do some serious thinking on the easiest way to improve the low end of the frequency (Sub)amplified of course.
Old 10-27-18, 05:26 PM
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digidoc
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Originally Posted by Djkb
Your setup sounds exactly to what I would love, And i can see that a lot of thought and time has gone into this installation.
It must now sound how it was intended too by Lexus hahaha.....

Yes photos would be great! Thanks for the quick reply also.

I now need to do some serious thinking on the easiest way to improve the low end of the frequency (Sub)amplified of course.
Here are a few pictures of my setup. Please excuse the messy wiring






JL Audio TwK-88 Controller for sub and overall volume control as well as preset selection.














Old 10-28-18, 12:05 PM
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Djkb
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I can see you’ve spent a lot of time on this with rewarding results. I’m quite happy with the mids and top end of the sound, it’s just the low end I’m going to try and sort out. Thanks for the photos as it helps us all with ideas and layouts.

Just the cables you need to spend extra time on now
Old 10-31-18, 06:58 AM
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digidoc
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Default More In-depth Sound Review

I thought I would spend a little extra time describing the benefits I've noticed by adding a proper sub to the Lexus system. I listen to an extremely wide variety of music. Examples of bands and musicians that I enjoy are Rush, Animals as Leaders, Hillsong United, Elevation Worship, Deadmau5, Vangelis, The Cure, New Order, Post Malone, Henry Manicini, Yes, etc. In terms of sub frequencies, I want my car system to be able to reproduce extremely focused bass for instruments like a kick drum, but also very warm and musical bass for synthesizers and more ambient sounds. I learned that just by adding a sub, I was definitely able to bring in lower frequencies than were possible with the stock speaker and it sounded a lot better right off the bat. In addition, by having the full frequency range and more balance, ear fatigue is greatly reduced (caveat: I also upgraded all of my front speakers and I believe better speaker quality can reduce ear fatigue). That said, it wasn't perfect and did require a small change in the crossover point for me to dial in the sound I was looking for. With the stock set up, the bass was muddy and not focused. We can see why by looking at the frequency pattern of the stock system. The picture below is the frequency pattern of the front mid/tweets (purple), front mid bass (red), and sub (blue) channels of the stock system. First of all by looking at this, you can see that you definitely have to grab the sub outputs from the amp to get the correct frequency range. We also can see why the bass is muddy. While the mid bass channel is crossed over at around 100 Hz, the sub bass channel actually extends above that to around 150 Hz or so. To fix this, use an amplifier for your new sub with a built in crossover and adjust it to somewhere around 80 - 100 Hz. It's important to adjust it while listening so you can dial it in to your liking. I think by doing this you will significantly improve the sound of your Lexus.





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