XJ XJ8 / XJR ( X308 ) 1997 - 2003

Trunk Subwoofer

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Old Jan 9, 2019 | 09:27 PM
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Default Trunk Subwoofer

was looking at a 1200 watt subwoofer 2 12's for the trunk, but after reading i've seen that they're not going to hit any bass because of the fuel tank. is that true?
 
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Old Jan 9, 2019 | 09:34 PM
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Not true, I run two 12 inch Memphis Audio subs in a ported box firing towards the rear/lights, I get crisp & clean bass. 1200 watts is likely overkill as I run 350-500 & get excellent results.
 

Last edited by King Charles; Jan 9, 2019 at 09:36 PM.
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Old Jan 9, 2019 | 09:36 PM
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Did you feel bass inside?
 
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Old Jan 9, 2019 | 09:39 PM
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Originally Posted by omgimali
Did you feel bass inside?
Absolutely, I also made sure all of the OEM sub/speaker debris was removed from the rear shelf to avoid rattles & allow the bass to port to cabin. These cars' trunks have really nice acoustics.
 

Last edited by King Charles; Jan 9, 2019 at 10:18 PM.
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Old Jan 10, 2019 | 02:07 AM
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One very important thing is to make sure the sub box is mounted as securely to the chassis as possible. Not just velcroed to the carpet, or held in loosely. Ideally it should be bracketed to something steel. You'll be surprised how much the bass travels through the car, rather than the air
 
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Old Jan 10, 2019 | 09:51 AM
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I am working on this project right now you can follow what i'm doing on a recent thread on here. I'm just cutting open the hole on the rear deck and removed the rubber plug and insulation to make sure I hear the bass from my trunk well.
 
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Old Jan 10, 2019 | 02:41 PM
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Originally Posted by John Baker
I am working on this project right now you can follow what i'm doing on a recent thread on here. I'm just cutting open the hole on the rear deck and removed the rubber plug and insulation to make sure I hear the bass from my trunk well.
With two quality 12 inch subs he'll be fine without doing that. I'm against cutting older cars for ports etc. as I've found the material you cut is likely to lose/lost elasticity & will rattle/creak/crack w/ time dealing with bass. If one removes the old speaker & it's debris from the shelf, the bass ports lovely from the trunk. I'll try & upload a video demonstrating the bass clarity & depth tonight, although I'm not sure how well that will translate w/ my phone's video.

I tried the porting bass from the trunk via cutting w/ a couple older cars & it always ended up with me chasing noises lol.

Good luck on your project though.
 
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Old Jan 10, 2019 | 04:10 PM
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That's fine if you have the premium system to start, but if not, you need to open up the hole in the parcel shelf, and the sound deadening layer beneath it. I believe this is the 'rubber plug' he is referring to.

I did something similar on a previous XJ, and went to a local car stereo shop and picked up a 6x9 speaker grill that was going free, and installed that in the parcel shelf, to cover the giant hole I had just cut.
It was a lot easier than trying to source a genuine Jaguar parcel shelf with the premium speaker grill
 
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Old Jan 11, 2019 | 05:18 PM
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Originally Posted by grandell
That's fine if you have the premium system to start, but if not, you need to open up the hole in the parcel shelf, and the sound deadening layer beneath it. I believe this is the 'rubber plug' he is referring to.

I did something similar on a previous XJ, and went to a local car stereo shop and picked up a 6x9 speaker grill that was going free, and installed that in the parcel shelf, to cover the giant hole I had just cut.
It was a lot easier than trying to source a genuine Jaguar parcel shelf with the premium speaker grill
I was speaking from my experience of doing the cut hole/port sub-woofer route w/ my previous 2001 XJ8 it was the base system & I encountered rattles & creaks where the cutting was done. It was done by a top audio shop, but the rear shelf was just so UV baked it had zero give & the port compromised it's already taxed integrity even more so. Removing the soundproofing & whatever else is under there is more than enough for proper subs to fire through without holes/etc.

Just my 2 cents, as it drove me batty when I had it done to my LWB lol.
 
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Old Jan 13, 2019 | 01:25 AM
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No kidding, I run a pretty mild setup, about 300W to a single 12" sub and sometimes I think the car is running lumpy until the current track stops.
 
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Old Jan 29, 2019 | 11:20 PM
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Originally Posted by omgimali
Did you feel bass inside?

Not sure how this translates w/ phone quality video compression etc. But here's w/ volume @ 20 it goes to 50 on the head unit, I keep the subs @ 75%,bass @ 3 out of 5 via audio settings. I get no rattles & I definitely feel pulses when I want to.

https://plus.google.com/photos/photo...40041681441122

https://plus.google.com/photos/photo...71617949207090
 

Last edited by King Charles; Jan 29, 2019 at 11:36 PM.
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Old Jan 31, 2019 | 05:55 PM
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how tough was the install?
 
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Old Feb 1, 2019 | 12:48 AM
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Originally Posted by omgimali
how tough was the install?
Not sure what the wiring entailed because I had it professionally installed, but the sub box just sits in the trunk firing towards the rear.
 
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Old Sep 27, 2022 | 11:17 PM
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Anyone tried these?
Amazon Amazon
 
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Old Sep 28, 2022 | 06:29 AM
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I must be one of the only forum members who finds the stock Alpine to be more than adequate.
Maybe I should be quiet about it so as not to alert the gremlins.
 
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Old Sep 29, 2022 | 12:12 PM
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Originally Posted by RandyS
I must be one of the only forum members who finds the stock Alpine to be more than adequate.
Maybe I should be quiet about it so as not to alert the gremlins.
Nope. Here is another one. I'm a bit more different when I say that the basic one is adequate enough too.
 
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Old Jan 10, 2026 | 11:11 PM
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if you're looking to get spl, better off getting an SUV or van. i got an alpine type r 15 which overkill running 1500 rms but it does sound good on the inside but out side, you can tell that a it needs a pass through to the cabin
 
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Old Jan 12, 2026 | 02:39 PM
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Originally Posted by Rocstar213
if you're looking to get spl, better off getting an SUV or van. i got an alpine type r 15 which overkill running 1500 rms but it does sound good on the inside but out side, you can tell that a it needs a pass through to the cabin
It's got one? there's a gap in the shelf for the factory 6x9" on the premium sound system. Wouldn't be hard to add a grill over the (offset) hole to allow the bass into the cabin.
 
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Old Apr 9, 2026 | 09:00 AM
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Alpine 50 watt amplifier for the new speakers in the doors and 2 x 12 x 200 watt subs mounted under the front seats and ok with CD changer
 
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