Model 3 subwoofer install.

[Skione65]

Has anyone tried cutting a couple holes in the metal rear deck to allow bass into the cabin? I’ve installed an OEM sub with and it sounds great with one of he rear seats down. With them both up I lose a lot of bass. I know earlier cars had a large cut out on the rear deck. Mine has no opening.

You probably could but I imagine the road noise would be unbearable. Try driving with the rear seats down and see how the noise level is. I just remember the myriad of threads on soundproofing the rear, covering the open cutout in the early models etc. So cutting more holes sounds counterintuitive but who knows.

Ski

 

[Candleflame]

I cant actually notice much difference with the seats down. Maybe a slight increase - but I would put that down due to having luggage in the trunk which decreases standing waves. My car doesnt have the cutout on the parcel shelf.

 

[C-Bus Y]

I did. And no unfortunately I did not notice any improvement.

To be honest, in hindsight, and with the benefit of my pre-swap notes, I’m not sure that the Ohmmu battery really did much for the bass.

It still doesn’t seem rich and there’s no response below 40 Hz.

I just purchased the NVX kit with the custom molded sub box for the M3. It’s a larger, more powerful sub and they made the box fit the cavity on the left side of the trunk. I feel confident that will bring the bass that I’m looking for.

Any feedback on the NVX kit?

 

[tlr1000]

Any feedback on the NVX kit?

Another subwoofer option - NVX Audio

 

[TFSMotorsport]

having installed many systems professionally including a 5/6kw system in a model s i have a few observations from the model 3 install.

1. the grounds at the sub and the dc converter to chassis both have paint on them
2. the ground strap on the dc converter to chassis is made from alloy
3. i found it impossible to get more than 1.3kw from the dc converter
4. using travis method resistor ends up in a very hot resistor that could easily cause a fire
5. the stock amplifier can be damaged simply by removing the ground if the system is not totally shut down ie hard reset under seat
6. fitting a cap is NOT something you should do at the dc converter
7. the stock signal is distorted at about 8/10 gain (using spotify app on head unit with 40hz tone)
8. the stock signal is distorted with just about any equalization at head unit (tested at 40hz)
9. the sub audio wires you want are red and black at the sub (take reference from sub not the loom that connects to it)

 

[C-Bus Y]

having installed many systems professionally including a 5/6kw system in a model s i have a few observations from the model 3 install.

1. the grounds at the sub and the dc converter to chassis both have paint on them
2. the ground strap on the dc converter to chassis is made from alloy
3. i found it impossible to get more than 1.3kw from the dc converter
4. using travis method resistor ends up in a very hot resistor that could easily cause a fire
5. the stock amplifier can be damaged simply by removing the ground if the system is not totally shut down ie hard reset under seat
6. fitting a cap is NOT something you should do at the dc converter
7. the stock signal is distorted at about 8/10 gain (using spotify app on head unit with 40hz tone)
8. the stock signal is distorted with just about any equalization at head unit (tested at 40hz)
9. the sub audio wires you want are red and black at the sub (take reference from sub not the loom that connects to it)

Where are you typically drawing your 12V power, at the battery or under the rear seat?

 

[TFSMotorsport]

At the DC Converter.

 

[hornfan785]

Anyone add an aftermarket sub to the hidden trunk storage location? I called a local audio shop in Austin with just some preliminary questions about if they had done aftermarket audio in Teslas and if they had thoughts about adding a sub and possibly rear shelf speakers, and they mentioned they could put a sub in the stock location, a bigger box in the trunk, or in the hidden trunk storage compartment. I didn't even think about that and seems like it could be a good idea if I wanted to add more bass than I could get from the stock location while still keeping the main trunk space for storage.

 

[hornfan785]

Nevermind, I actually went through more of the thread and saw others have done the same. I'd delete my previous post but doesn't look like I can. Sorry

 

[HenryFi]

Does anyone know what connector type the stock amp has that goes to the sub? I don't want to tap it with a normal cutting tap, instead I want to make a kind of Y splitter with the same connector so I can put everything back to stock with no damage

 

[St3phen]

I've been doing a fair amount of research on options that I can do to add more low-end to my M3 with premium audio. It seems that going with your own amp/sub combo is the way to go, but I want to explore all options before conceding that path.

I am a bandpass guy, so this is a must. It means I can get away with less power to generate the lows that I want. (You need more power for sealed/ported, so I wouldn't try this with that setup.) My *hope* is that I can bridge the stock sub amp. I have an Alpine 10" SVC woofer in a bandpass box, and I'm tempted to hook it up to see what happens, but maybe someone else has already forged the trail?

I've seen posts where people have tried powering a DVC sub with the stock amp and barely got anything useful out of it. That makes sense because the stock amp is probably roughly 50 RMS per channel, and a typical DVC sub may need a minimum of 250 RMS to begin to hit hard.

However, if it is possible to bridge the oem sub amp, maybe I can get the RMS signal up to around 100 RMS and that would be enough to power a 10" SVC woofer that is rated between 75+ RMS. I have no idea if it will still hit like I want, but I want to know (or try) before doing the custom install. (I've done custom stereo installs in all of my cars, so no worries there - just want to avoid it if I can in this car.)

TLDR: Has anyone bridged the stock sub amp to drive a SVC woofer?

 

[Candleflame]

I've been doing a fair amount of research on options that I can do to add more low-end to my M3 with premium audio. It seems that going with your own amp/sub combo is the way to go, but I want to explore all options before conceding that path.

I am a bandpass guy, so this is a must. It means I can get away with less power to generate the lows that I want. (You need more power for sealed/ported, so I wouldn't try this with that setup.) My *hope* is that I can bridge the stock sub amp. I have an Alpine 10" SVC woofer in a bandpass box, and I'm tempted to hook it up to see what happens, but maybe someone else has already forged the trail?

I've seen posts where people have tried powering a DVC sub with the stock amp and barely got anything useful out of it. That makes sense because the stock amp is probably roughly 50 RMS per channel, and a typical DVC sub may need a minimum of 250 RMS to begin to hit hard.

However, if it is possible to bridge the oem sub amp, maybe I can get the RMS signal up to around 100 RMS and that would be enough to power a 10" SVC woofer that is rated between 75+ RMS. I have no idea if it will still hit like I want, but I want to know (or try) before doing the custom install. (I've done custom stereo installs in all of my cars, so no worries there - just want to avoid it if I can in this car.)

TLDR: Has anyone bridged the stock sub amp to drive a SVC woofer?

100W RMS will not get you the bass you are after. the original sub is really just there to give you some rumble for the notes the door speakers (from which most bass is coming from!) cannot hit. Namely anything below F really or maybe E. Unfortunately at such low frequencies sub 40hz you need enough RMS to generate the necessary power.

 

[St3phen]

100W RMS will not get you the bass you are after. the original sub is really just there to give you some rumble for the notes the door speakers (from which most bass is coming from!) cannot hit. Namely anything below F really or maybe E. Unfortunately at such low frequencies sub 40hz you need enough RMS to generate the necessary power.

Generally speaking, I agree with you... but there is a difference with 100 RMS in a bandpass vs. 100 RMS in a sealed or ported.

 

[St3phen]

Generally speaking, I agree with you... but there is a difference with 100 RMS in a bandpass vs. 100 RMS in a sealed or ported.

Granted... 100 RMS isn't much for anything.

I'm leaning toward just getting the NVX setup. I'll just need to tune it to my preference. Been forever since I used a sealed box.

 

[LexZ]

Thanks to everyone in this thread! I completed a full DIY install of an Alpine 300w RMS amp and a Pioneer shallow mount sealed 12" 4ohm sub this weekend! Happy to assist anyone in doing the same. If you're in the Los Angeles area, I'd be happy to meet up and help out if needed!

Is your install on a Std+ model w/o the stock amp?

 

[rogerssa]

I was thinking of going with something like this in the lower trunk of my M3P

Cerwin-Vega

Using a PAC LP7-2 to convert the signal from the rear factory sub.

 

[dfwatt]

Has anyone tried this: Amazon.com. I know it's not a comprehensive solution but I'm wondering if it would improve low-end in a meaningful way for modest money and way less work. To say nothing of steering clear of dreaded "cannot maintain power" codes and the like

 

[Candleflame]

Has anyone tried this: Amazon.com. I know it's not a comprehensive solution but I'm wondering if it would improve low-end in a meaningful way for modest money and way less work. To say nothing of steering clear of dreaded "cannot maintain power" codes and the like

lowend depends largely on the wattage and rms rating. The door speakers already produce a lot of lowend.

 

[todd2fst4u]

Has anyone tried this: Amazon.com. I know it's not a comprehensive solution but I'm wondering if it would improve low-end in a meaningful way for modest money and way less work. To say nothing of steering clear of dreaded "cannot maintain power" codes and the like

I have the Light Harmonic speaker upgrade and the STEG tweeters in my SR+. The Light Harmonic speakers do improve the low end in my opinion.

 

[dfwatt]

I have the Light Harmonic speaker upgrade and the STEG tweeters in my SR+. The Light Harmonic speakers do improve the low end in my opinion.
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Tough to do A / B comparisons on your own car but I assume you listened to some music with a lot of low-frequency material right after your install that you were familiar with. Can you describe the differences that you heard?