Adding a real subwoofer w/amp to your Mach-E

[markboris]

@markboris awesome write up! It looks like you really know your stuff here. Do you have any concerns with the low voltage battery? I see a lot of threads (at least older ones) with 12V battery drain issues. I was thinking the added draw could be a concern, but from your experience after install have you had any problems?

Also, do you see any benefit from the remote volume knob? I wasn’t sure if the built in equalizer controls on the Mach-E display would be sufficient to adjust bass output without it, or if there’s a drawback to doing that I don’t know about (gain vs volume sound quality loss?). I had a setup in my last vehicle similar to this and probably adjusted the volume on the sub once or twice but in general kept it after I found my sweet spot, so seeing if it’s worth the added cost.

Hi Tanner, thanks for the complements. In the 8 months I had the premium, I had no issues with the 12 volt battery and don't really see why I should. I just installed the same sub in my GT which I have only had a couple of weeks and did it exactly the same way as in the premium. I have in past cars like my Focus RS and Escape, installed a small aux battery in the cargo area for the audio system but that is usually only when I have multiple, high powered amps running the entire system. The amp in the JL Sub is very efficient and doesn't require it.

About the remote volume control for the JL sub, I feel it is an absolute must. Adjusting the bass control of the equalizer setting in Sync is completely different as it seems to be more of a mid-bass control and centered around 125 Hz and will affect the bass in all the door speakers too. Using the JL remote volume control will only adjust the volume of the sub which is of course a much lower frequency and more centered around 50-80 Hz depending on where you set the crossover on the sub. I frequently adjust the volume of the sub (the reason I always mount the control in a convenient location) depending on the type of music I listen to. Many older classic rock tracks don't have a lot of deep bass so I boost it a bit while newer pop and electronic music, have quite a bit and may need to tone it down a bit. You can always install it later but it is much easier to do it at the same time when running the power wire to the rear..

Sponsored

 

[Mach1E]

The dealer pointed out — persuasively, at least to me — that the normal sound-quality benefits of a sealed sub versus a ported will not be realized when placing the sub under the cargo floor in the rear.

However, I do want to be able to lower the cargo floor, so the sealed may be the only option.

Well after more measuring and pondering, I switched my order from the 12” sealed PowerWedge to the 10” ported MicroSub.

The boxes are identical in size and after hours of reading opinions online, a 10” ported and 12” sealed should perform very similarly.

What made me change? MicroSub is in stock and the 12” PowerWedge back ordered to who knows when?

 

[tannerk89]

Hi Tanner, thanks for the complements. In the 8 months I had the premium, I had no issues with the 12 volt battery and don't really see why I should. I just installed the same sub in my GT which I have only had a couple of weeks and did it exactly the same way as in the premium. I have in past cars like my Focus RS and Escape, installed a small aux battery in the cargo area for the audio system but that is usually only when I have multiple, high powered amps running the entire system. The amp in the JL Sub is very efficient and doesn't require it.

About the remote volume control for the JL sub, I feel it is an absolute must. Adjusting the bass control of the equalizer setting in Sync is completely different as it seems to be more of a mid-bass control and centered around 125 Hz and will affect the bass in all the door speakers too. Using the JL remote volume control will only adjust the volume of the sub which is of course a much lower frequency and more centered around 50-80 Hz depending on where you set the crossover on the sub. I frequently adjust the volume of the sub (the reason I always mount the control in a convenient location) depending on the type of music I listen to. Many older classic rock tracks don't have a lot of deep bass so I boost it a bit while newer pop and electronic music, have quite a bit and may need to tone it down a bit. You can always install it later but it is much easier to do it at the same time when running the power wire to the rear..

Thanks, I really appreciate the insight. You’re right… If I don’t install it while taking apart the trim panels to pull the power cable etc. I won’t ever do it, so yeah, I will include from the start! Better to have the flexibility than wish I had it later.

 

[IamIA]

Did anyone in the SF Bay Area let a professional installer do this sub replacement installation and if so, would they share the name of the installer please?

 

[DrSteveBrule]

Did anyone in the SF Bay Area let a professional installer do this sub replacement installation and if so, would they share the name of the installer please?

Honestly, it doesn't seem particularly complex. I would look for the best installer and believe in their ability to work on something new.

 

[jonnyboy7]

Did anyone in the SF Bay Area let a professional installer do this sub replacement installation and if so, would they share the name of the installer please?

I am in the East Bay and there is an excellent local shop in El Cerrito, which is also a JL Audio dealer. I will DM you the name. They will do my install within the next week or two.

 

[IamIA]

Thanks, I really appreciate the insight. You’re right… If I don’t install it while taking apart the trim panels to pull the power cable etc. I won’t ever do it, so yeah, I will include from the start! Better to have the flexibility than wish I had it later.

is there such a thing as a wireless remote volume controller for this amplifier/sub?
I would prefer that over drilling a hole in the front console.

 

[markboris]

is there such a thing as a wireless remote volume controller for this amplifier/sub?
I would prefer that over drilling a hole in the front console.

No there isn’t a wireless remote for any JL sub/amps. After the control is installed it isn’t visible at all unless you bend over and look under the shifter console. If you ever removed it you can add a black plug and no one would ever know anything was there. You can install the control in a number of different places if you wanted to. I choose to always do it in an area where you can easily get to it without taking your eyes off the road, not having to reach forward and is not visible.

 

[Mach1E]

WARNING: This is a long winded write up of my very simple, easy and fairly inexpensive upgrade for the sub bass of the Mach-E audio system. Once I started typing, I figured I would explain also why I did it not just how I did it.

A couple of days ago, I had no intentions on upgrading the lack of low end bass in the Mach-E. The sound inside this car is decent. Not great and not bad. I have upgraded many, many cars and trucks in the last 51 years I have been driving. I currently have three other vehicles that have much better sound systems that I have upgraded and I drive all of them about equally, except the GT500.

I was finishing up my sound deadening project on the Mach-E (one on of the first things I do to any vehicle besides changing wheels and tires) and in the last trim panel I removed, came across the pathetic, cheap, 6x9 paper cone subwoofer, if you can call it that. I thought to myself, this has got to go. Some cars I revamp the entire system and limit myself to between $5000-$8000 and others I just change out the sub and call it a day. The Mach-E is one of those. I’ve had all the door panels off and even the dash soundbar cover and the speakers in this car are not of the highest quality but they sound decent and get the job done especially if you don’t need to turn it up too loud. Speaking of volume, the amp in this car measures about 5”x5” and powers all the speakers. I am pretty sure it isn’t very powerful so the speakers are obviously very efficient.

My go to sub and sub amp manufacturer is JL Audio. I have been installing their equipment since the early 90’s. No, I have no affiliation with them but I’ve just been a happy customer for all these years. There are many good subs out there and JL is not the only one for sure but they have never let me down and make a quality product here in the US. I also use their subs for my home theaters. They start at $900 and go up to $16,500!!

Back to the Mach-E sub install, I could have gone all different routes. Small 8” with built in amp all the way up to dual 12” subs with a separate amp. This car does not warrant or need that much volume as it would certainly overpower the rest of the system and you are just wasting money. As it is, even the 8” lower powered sub JL makes would be 10x louder and have a lower range than the OEM sub.

While I had a lot of options, I also had a few requirements. 1. Wanted to be able to continue to use the cargo floor in both the upper and lower position in case I needed the extra space. I normally keep the cargo floor in the upper position so it is easier for me to take things in and out and it gives me the room under the floor to have quite a bit of air space for the bass sound to come out thorough the back seats. I can still store the charge cords, electrical air pump, portable battery charger/starter, rags, cleaners, polish, etc. 2. Ease of install. Really no need to install a sub and separate amp as there is more mounting and wiring to do and not really necessary for this system. 3. Cost. While I have no problem spending any amount of money on this project, again unless I were to revamp the entire system, it is not worth it.

JL makes all kinds and sizes of subs and you can usually find something that fits your application. I prefer a sub with a sealed enclosure because I like tight, accurate bass. While sealed enclosures are not as efficient, it will have more than enough volume for this system. Ported enclosures are much more efficient but at the expense of being a boomy and less accurate. This also depends on the type of music you listen to. Classical, Rock and Pop, you probably want a sealed enclosure. Rap and electronic music you might want the ported enclosure. I listen to mainly Rock, Pop and Country.

My sub of choice for the Mach-E was the JL Audio ACS110LG-TW1 Single 10” PowerWedge+ with built in 400 watt RMS amp. I chose this because of the requirements above. Height is only 5” so fits with the cargo floor to the lower position. It has a built in amp so all wiring (only four wires plus volume control cable) terminate at the sub. Cost is $520 for the sub/amp. I did buy the optional remote volume control which I always do with their subs so I can adjust the volume depending on the music I’m listening to. The RBC-1 remote volume control is $45. Total cost including wiring and power fuse was around $610.

Before I removed the OEM sub, I wanted to test the loudness and frequency that it added to the rest of the system. I was sure it was not much but it actually does add some, just not as much as I would like in the lower frequencies which is what the job of a SUBWOOFER is supposed to do. Adjusting the bass setting in the sound settings of the Mach-E actually is controlling more mid-bass and it is centered around 125 Hz. Now after the install I have two controls, the Mach-E mid bass setting and the JL sub bass setting which is centered around 50 Hz.

I set the volume at 15, all three eq settings flat and pumped some pink noise through the system via an app on my iPhone. The analyzer was set to 80db. I was surprised to see how nice and flat the midrange was and the high end looked good too (it is supposed to have a roll off like it shows). In the first two photos of the spectrum analyzer, the first one is without the OEM sub, second one with it. There is only a 2.5 db difference with and without. While it is something, that is not much. As I suspected, most of the bass in this system is coming from the four door speakers. Adding in the OEM sub, just adds a bit more volume to the bass and doesn’t add any more to the low frequencies. The third analyzer photo is after adding the JL sub. Now of course I have the remote volume control and can vary the output but what is more important is the low end frequency. 31.5 Hz is now much higher than it was before and there is also a little more at 63 Hz all with very little effect on the higher bass frequencies. The final analyzer photo is what I ended up with after setting the bass eq of the car up +2 to remove the dip at 250 Hz.

In the past I’ve taken many photos while doing mods on my cars but in the last few years have gotten lazy but mostly forget to do it. Below are a few photos I did take while working on this. Removed the panels and storage bin in the frunk to gain access to the positive terminal of the battery. Ran the blue 8 gauge wire from the terminal to a fuse that I zip tied to the negative battery wire. It was a good location for the fuse and if I ever need to access it I only have to remove the one panel across the back. In one of the large rubber boots in the firewall with a large bundle of wiring going into the interior, there was an area that looked like it was intended for more wires but closed off. I made a small cut in that rubber area and again made another one on the inside of the firewall under the dash to allow the wire to come through (it is a double wall boot). Ran the 12+V wire down behind the left side kick panel, under both front and rear kick plates and to the rear cargo area.

I removed the right trim panel in the cargo area in front of the OEM sub and disconnected the wires to the sub. Attached an 18 gauge speaker wire to the two wires that were going to the sub for my audio input to the JL amp. Green/Violet + and Gray -. Just above the OEM sub is the B&O amp and to the left of it is a ground to the metal wheel well. I also used this grounding point to attach my 8 gauge ground wire for the JL amp.

Next was mounting the remote bass volume control. There are several places in the Mach-E to do this but I generally like to mount the control where I can easily adjust it without reaching to the dash or taking my eyes off the road. I found the perfect spot at the front of the console. The console cover that has the shifter dial and parking brake switch just unsnaps and lifts up. I drilled a 3/8” hole and mounted the control. It is easily adjustable using just one finger and you cannot see the control while seated unless you move the seat all the way forward. Ran the 18' cable along under the left side of the console then under the driver’s carpet then along the underside of the kick panels to the back and popped through the hole I had made for the other wires in corner of the padded floor.

The sub box fits nicely in the area that was occupied by the styrofoam container that housed the air pump and charging cords. I did not bolt down the sub box as being 20 lbs. it is decently heavy and does not slide at all because of the carpeted box on top of the padded floor. The two materials together are like Velcro. It’s not going anywhere especially since there is a cargo floor and a very heavy Lloyds custom fitted carpet above it. I still have room for all the stuff I had below the floor and now there is a real subwoofer too. If I want to drop the cargo floor down to the lower level, I do have to remove the charge cords and roll of paper towels. On the lower level, the cargo floor actually sits on the grill of the subwoofer which sticks up about 3/4". I can remove the grill and then the floor would be flat as it was before but I'd rather keep the grill on the woofer.

How I have the levels and controls set up: The car’s EQ is set to plus 3 on the treble (I like it a bit brighter on the top end), left the midrange alone and bumped up the bass +2 to bring up the 250 Hz that was lacking a bit. On the sub amp I have the input level set half way, crossover frequency set at 50 Hz. The remote sub volume is set around ½ way which sounds about right for most tracks I listened to . That means since I have the input level on the amp 1/2 way up and the remote volume 1/2 way up, I am using about 1/4 of the volume the sub can put out to match the audio of the OEM system. Tons of volume in reserve if I wanted to produce some rap bass for everyone to hear down the block. The turn on power for the amp is set when it sees an audio signal. I may have to change this if it drains the battery. Have had that happen in the RS if the car supplies signal to the sub for various reasons even when the car isn’t on. I can pull and ignition wire from the B&O amp for the turn on if that is the case.

Ok, done boring everyone with something that could have probably been written in two paragraphs. ?

UPDATE: I posted if using the 12" JL Audio PowerWedge+ sub amp on this post. #14

Thanks again for this write up. Super helpful!

Installed my 10” JL Audio Microsub+ today.

A couple things I learned:

Getting the power wire through the firewall was a royal pain.

After much time and frustration figured out an easier way:

Jam a large flathead screw driver through that same rubber knob spot, then use electrical tape to tie the wire to it and pull it back through.

Another tip/warning. When removing panels, be careful what you pull on. I broke one of the plastic trays on the rear right of the car. It’s not held on well.

 

[markboris]

Thanks again for this write up. Super helpful!

Installed my 10” JL Audio Microsub+ today.

A couple things I learned:

Getting the power wire through the firewall was a royal pain.

After much time and frustration figured out an easier way:

Jam a large flathead screw driver through that same rubber knob spot, then use electrical tape to tie the wire to it and pull it back through.

Another tip/warning. When removing panels, be careful what you pull on. I broke one of the plastic trays on the rear right of the car. It’s not held on well.

Glad you got it installed. Yes getting the power wire through the firewall is a pain but I do have a flexible wire that I use to pull wires through spots like that, similar to what you did. As far as the panels go, I have taken so many cars apart that I am fairly familiar with how and where the clips are. Some are vertical, some horizontal on the rear cargo trim panels and they can be a little tricky. I have the repair manual so it shows where all the clips and fasteners are and makes it a little easier.

You didn't mention how you liked the sound? Let us know what you think.

 

[jonnyboy7]

Thanks again for this write up. Super helpful!

Installed my 10” JL Audio Microsub+ today.

Hope you are enjoying it. To confirm — cargo floor is now required to be in the raised position, correct?

 

[markboris]

Hope you are enjoying it. To confirm — cargo floor is now required to be in the raised position, correct?

Yes the JL 10" MicroSub+ and 12" PowerWedge+ subs are the same size and require the cargo floor to be in the upper position. Only the 10" PowerWedge+ sub is small enough to allow the cargo floor to be in the lowered position.

 

[Mach1E]

Hope you are enjoying it. To confirm — cargo floor is now required to be in the raised position, correct?

Yes, as he said in the raised position.

Honestly, didn’t bother me a bit losing a few inches of cargo space. I’ve had a sub in every car I’ve owned. I’m used to it taking up more space in the trunk so having it below the floor is a nice change of pace.

As far as sound goes it’s a huge improvement of course.

I haven’t played with the settings too much yet. Right now the amp is at half, bass set at half and the remote bass knob at half and it still can easily overpower the stock speakers.

If I’m being nit picky, it maybe sounds a little too boosted in the 50 hz range or so and doesn’t hit as hard in songs where it drops below that, but that’s to be expected for a 10” sub. Haven’t found one yet in that size with linear bass response.

I’ve been using an image dynamics sub for years which is an excellent SQ sub and it definitely sounds similar.

I should note I was worried earlier about the port being covered. It isn’t at all. Tons of space for the air to move.

 

[Pushrods&Capacitors]

Yes, as he said in the raised position.

Honestly, didn’t bother me a bit losing a few inches of cargo space. I’ve had a sub in every car I’ve owned. I’m used to it taking up more space in the trunk so having it below the floor is a nice change of pace.

As far as sound goes it’s a huge improvement of course.

I haven’t played with the settings too much yet. Right now the amp is at half, bass set at half and the remote bass knob at half and it still can easily overpower the stock speakers.

If I’m being nit picky, it maybe sounds a little too boosted in the 50 hz range or so and doesn’t hit as hard in songs where it drops below that, but that’s to be expected for a 10” sub. Haven’t found one yet in that size with linear bass response.

I’ve been using an image dynamics sub for years which is an excellent SQ sub and it definitely sounds similar.

I should note I was worried earlier about the port being covered. It isn’t at all. Tons of space for the air to move.

The bass reflex enclosure betrays itself with that 50hz response peak. That’s probably the box tuning frequency. Shoulda got the sealed one for flatter response and more extension. ?

If you decide you must have that sealed box low end extension, I’ve included a link to the powered sub I use in the SS. There’s also a 10” version with the same amp/freq response range (down to 20Hz). More output than you’ll probably ever need with notable extension into the lower 30s.

https://rockfordfosgate.com/products/details/p300-12/

 

[Pushrods&Capacitors]

Thanks again for this write up. Super helpful!

Installed my 10” JL Audio Microsub+ today.

A couple things I learned:

Getting the power wire through the firewall was a royal pain.

After much time and frustration figured out an easier way:

Jam a large flathead screw driver through that same rubber knob spot, then use electrical tape to tie the wire to it and pull it back through.

Another tip/warning. When removing panels, be careful what you pull on. I broke one of the plastic trays on the rear right of the car. It’s not held on well.

Miss the good old days of Fox body firewall grommets the size of donuts? So easy to run 4awg power cable, braided stainless Nitrous lines etc. No wonder you could always smell exhaust even if you had hi flow catalytic converters ?