looking for layman's guidance installing a subwoofer in 240

Hey everyone,
Just writing to see if anyone can help me figure out how to go about installing a small subwoofer in my 92 240 (the type that sits under a seat)? Just replace my junkyard speakers with some low end new ones... the mids and highs are more clear now, but all my sub bass has disappeared with these new speakers.

I'm a musician, and bypassed the factory amp to install my stereo, so I'm not a complete noob. But I'm also not an electrician or pro audio expert. Any help will be mega appreciated!

I doubt that you'll be able to fit much of a subwoofer under a 240's seat unless you have it creep into the footwell space for a rear passenger, but if you can build a custom enclosure and raise the seat an inch or so, you might have some options.

Here's another idea. If you have a rear seat with a fold down center armrest (I think all 92's would have this), then you could mount a 6.5" woofer on the metal trunk wall so it fires through the armrest opening. No, it's not a 10" or 12" true subwoofer, but if you choose the right driver/amp you could certainly augment your bass.

What drivers are you currently running in the front doors, rear doors and possibly rear deck?

Thanks so much for the help. That sounds like a great idea to me! I also have some speakers mounted in the area behind the backseat headrests Where some non functional speakers are sitting. I’ve explored that a little and it looks like it was grabbed from a junkyard because they’re not connected to the wiring of the speaker system.

I’m just using the amp in my budget headunit. I bypassed the stock amp, but could definitely use some more juice for this system (I have to crank up pretty high to hear when driving w windows down). Front door speakers are some cheap pyles I got on amazon. I know I’ll probably have to install a new amp to drive the sub.

What would be the easiest way to install a new amp, and run the wiring for the sub to the trunk?

Edit: I have a model that didn’t have speakers in the rear doors too

google powered bass tube

The kind of subwoofer that sits under a seat is powered like any other stereo equipment. There is a wire from the head unit, a constant 12V battery wire, and a ground. Now ya got power. To get the music to the stereo, you have line level inputs to the sub maybe (speaker wire) or RCA cables. If you installed an aftermarket head unit, you should use RCA cables. That is all.

Ground wire should be as large or larger than the 12V constant battery cable. And short. Constant battery power wire should be sized according to the instruction manual.

Bass tubes will not fit under the seat. Wrote this assuming you want one of these: https://www.crutchfield.com/shopsearch/powered_subwoofer.html

lavenderphonk said:

the mids and highs are more clear now, but all my sub bass has disappeared with these new speakers. I'm a musician,

Click to expand...

That makes me think the music is for you, not for your neighbors. If so, you may wish to try a pair of Aura Bass Shaker Pro modules. I bolted a pair to the floorpan (one under each front seat), and I can tell you I've never had more fun listening to pipe organs and such. Or rock 'n roll. Or whatever. A very modest (50W) subwoofer amp with volume control and lowpass filter adjustment will let you tailor the "crossover" point to wherever your stock speakers lose steam, but I've found even using a simple gain knob, I can obtain the illusion of a seamless extension from midbass all the way to the thunderous basement. (My favorite range is 20-30Hz, just so you understand my expectations. That's an entire octave below a string bass.)

Basically, these units vibrate the seat directly, instead of vibrating a huge volume of air which then vibrates your seat. Much more efficient to achieve the end goal directly. You can get the type of thump that normally would piss off your neighbors and have you reaching for a pair of earplugs... but even after many hours of personal back massage, the ears aren't complaining at all.

Granted, if you like annoying your neighbors... or if you're the type who cranks up a stereo to use as a mating call... this ain't for you.

Toybox said:

That makes me think the music is for you, not for your neighbors. If so, you may wish to try a pair of Aura Bass Shaker Pro modules. I bolted a pair to the floorpan (one under each front seat), and I can tell you I've never had more fun listening to pipe organs and such. Or rock 'n roll. Or whatever. A very modest (50W) subwoofer amp with volume control and lowpass filter adjustment will let you tailor the "crossover" point to wherever your stock speakers lose steam, but I've found even using a simple gain knob, I can obtain the illusion of a seamless extension from midbass all the way to the thunderous basement. (My favorite range is 20-30Hz, just so you understand my expectations. That's an entire octave below a string bass.)

Basically, these units vibrate the seat directly, instead of vibrating a huge volume of air which then vibrates your seat. Much more efficient to achieve the end goal directly. You can get the type of thump that normally would piss off your neighbors and have you reaching for a pair of earplugs... but even after many hours of personal back massage, the ears aren't complaining at all.

Granted, if you like annoying your neighbors... or if you're the type who cranks up a stereo to use as a mating call... this ain't for you.

Click to expand...

This seems like a pretty good solution. Do you have pics of your install?

That is a good bit more wiring, but if that is what you want, it works.

I like a bit of hp in my stereos even though I don't try to blow the windows out of the car.

DD Ranch said:

This seems like a pretty good solution. Do you have pics of your install?

Click to expand...

There's not much to it, really. I tried to post a link in blue text, but let me spell it out: https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/bass-shakers/aurasound-ast-2b-4-pro-bass-shaker-each/

Each unit is 6" diameter, 2.5" tall. Under each front seat, I cut an "H" shape slice in the carpeting to create flaps, in order to gain access to the sheet metal floor. (I chose the H so that I could fold the original material back into place and sew it together again, if a future owner ever decided carpeting is better.) Small sheet metal screws to the floor. Choose the most flat place you can reasonably find.

2turbotoys said:

That is a good bit more wiring, but if that is what you want, it works.

Click to expand...

You were referring to this? I dunno, doesn't seem like much to me... A speaker-level-to-RCA adapter, sent to small 50W amp, and the L+R outputs go to the shakers. They hook up just like speakers.

It isn't much more, it is more than one powered sub though. I am assuming he doesn't want stereo gear in the back of the car also.