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

[Dadstoyy]

I'm planning to go similar route as Bba postet in this thread

https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/audio-upgrade-mach-e.31277/

He tapped into the signal from the front tweeters.

And i plan to increase the wire sizes to the speakers... At least up to the door.
And I have been looking into the pac amp but I'm in Norway.

I get that. For me it's about cutting into the harnesses that is a challenge.

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[Islandviking]

I get that. For me it's about cutting into the harnesses that is a challenge.

I don't have a problem building/soldering and making a harness myself.. Just need to know what connectors to buy. Then I don't have to cut any factory wires. The harness would be similar to the ones that comes with the pac amp with minor changes.

 

[Dadstoyy]

I don't have a problem building/soldering and making a harness myself.. Just need to know what connectors to buy. Then I don't have to cut any factory wires. The harness would be similar to the ones that comes with the pac amp with minor changes.

Ok. That works too. But just realized something. I didn't use my front harness. I'm away right now but let me check when I'm home in a few days. If I didint throw out I can give you mine. You just pay me for the shipping to you

 

[Islandviking]

Ok. That works too. But just realized something. I didn't use my front harness. I'm away right now but let me check when I'm home in a few days. If I didint throw out I can give you mine. You just pay me for the shipping to you

That would actually be very helpful. Although I wonder what the shipping cost to Norway is.. ??

 

[Dadstoyy]

That would actually be very helpful. Although I wonder what the shipping cost to Norway is.. ??

I'm sure it's not that much for a small wire harness.

 

[Islandviking]

I'm sure it's not that much for a small wire harness.

Probably not much

 

[NickAvo]

Thank you MarkBoris for the great writeup and all the other contributors. The writeup(s) made the job much simpler than expected. I installed the JL Audio ACP110LG-TW1, ported 10 inch sub using the Crutchfield CK8 Amp Wiring Kit, the Remote bass control, Bojo Trim Panel Tools, and sound deadening. Running the 8 gauge wire and remote bass control under the drivers side floor boards was really easy as I just lightly bent up the plastic and tucked everything under! I was able to cut the wires to the OEM bass after the green connector. This allowed me to solider my speaker level input harness with extension wires directly to the green connector and plug it in! I grounded to the tie down bolt near the speaker ground, after verifying that it was a well grounded location. The ported bass is awesome and very boomy! I rarely crank it all the way up, but when I do, the rear hatch window shakes like it is going to shatter! yikes! And the fit is perfect!

Three minor thoughts - The sub occasionally misses the first big thump of the track. It is a bummer on certain songs. I don't know if it is the REM turn on with power, the crossover, or the way I wired the speak level inputs (which I think I did incorrectly!). Secondly, the the remote bass control seems to have much less control than expected. The movement between soft and big bass is very slight. The last minor critique is that I would rather be able to control the bass independently from the fader, which did adjust the OEM sub. My rear seat occupants would too!

On my '66 Falcon Futura, I installed an 8" sealed bass (Retrosound) using RCA inputs, a power on line and a remote bass control. With this setup, there seems to be a lot more bass control, no missed beats, and independent variability. The crisp clear bass of a sealed bass is certainly very nice for jazz and many songs, but I was missing that boomy bass, which is why I went with a ported sub on this installation.

It would be cool to hear the 12 inch JL sealed a some point, just to compare, but overall I am very happy with the ported sub!

I would be curious if anyone has had my minor issues and if you solved them.

I have an edit to this... I reach out to Crutchfield about the poor response at low volume / missing the first beat (they are always awesome btw!). They advised connecting to power for the DC turn-on mode vs the input signal. I used the 12v Aux power near the oem sub (which is off when the Mach-E is off). This worked fantastic and 100% solved this issue. It now sounds awesome throughout the volume and beat ranges. The wired Remote Bass Control still lacks fidelity but unless you have really wide music tastes, this may not be that big of an issue. Cheers!

 

[disneyfun1]

This may have been answered in the 38 pages here, but is there a sub that can go in place of the factory sub and just do a swap out for a little better sound? Dont really want to wire much or add an amp, hoping to just swap the sub out for one that is the factory size and better sound

 

[markboris]

This may have been answered in the 38 pages here, but is there a sub that can go in place of the factory sub and just do a swap out for a little better sound? Dont really want to wire much or add an amp, hoping to just swap the sub out for one that is the factory size and better sound

Unfortunately no there is not. There is absolutely no room back there. You can maybe replace the crappy OEM 6x9 sub with something else but that won't gain you any better bass so what is the point?

 

[DK_Min]

Hi @markboris, how much of a difference did you find adding the extra amplification on the stock speakers make?

I’m going to start with the subwoofer install and appreciate your advice of feeding a key loc with the front speakers channels for the sub output.

In your experience, would there be any issue with tapping those speaker, wires and essentially running the key loc in parallel with the stock speakers? Would that change impedance or loading and diminish the sound on those speakers? Worst case I guess I can then add in the extra amp. ?

I love my powerful JL amps but might pick up the kicker Key 500.1 as it has the built in keyloc functionality. Anyone have any experience with this amp?

I may also pick up a cheap or free key 200.4 which I can use instead of a JL to power the interior speakers if it will make a difference. In that case I’m not sure if I’d want to use the EQ feature on the stock speakers as it wouldn’t be controlling the tweets. Any insights would be appreciated.

Cheers!

You are correct. That is exactly how I wired it except my external amp uses RCA's for outputs so had to buy adapters: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08NWNL63V/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

I did not amplify the front factory amp (ACM) which supplies audio to the two dash tweeters and center speaker. There is no need to as you can bump up treble a bit on the EQ if you want. I was able to EQ the system just fine using my audio spectrum analyzer after adding the amp and tweaking the EQ.

 

[markboris]

Hi @markboris, how much of a difference did you find adding the extra amplification on the stock speakers make?

I’m going to start with the subwoofer install and appreciate your advice of feeding a key loc with the front speakers channels for the sub output.

In your experience, would there be any issue with tapping those speaker, wires and essentially running the key loc in parallel with the stock speakers? Would that change impedance or loading and diminish the sound on those speakers? Worst case I guess I can then add in the extra amp. ?

I love my powerful JL amps but might pick up the kicker Key 500.1 as it has the built in keyloc functionality. Anyone have any experience with this amp?

I may also pick up a cheap or free key 200.4 which I can use instead of a JL to power the interior speakers if it will make a difference. In that case I’m not sure if I’d want to use the EQ feature on the stock speakers as it wouldn’t be controlling the tweets. Any insights would be appreciated.

Cheers!

For my '21, it woke up the speakers. The system volume and dynamics were missing and after adding the little JL amp, it took care of both issues. Now, my '24 does not need this at all. I mentioned when I got this car two months ago that I instantly noticed the system played a bit louder and sounded more punchy. Won't be adding an amp to this one.

My recommendation would be to first tap off of the OEM sub wires and use that for your audio input to your sub. I say this because most everyone finds this to be all they need to do. It is such a huge leap in bass quality and volume that you may not want to go the extra steps with the Keyloc to get that little bit extra. Setting up the Keyloc was a pain and while it put the finishing touches on touches on the bass output, it is not something I recommend unless you really are after the best. I did not install it in my '24. I just used the OEM sub wires for my JL input and disconnected the OEM sub. I really feel they changed the amp for the better in the newer models. I stated this before but the B&O amp is physically larger and while that may not mean anything, the system does play louder and the OEM bass plays deeper.

Sounds like you really want to add an amp but again, for starters I would disconnect the OEM sub and add your own and then see what you want to do next. Just adding the sub makes a huge difference and many have just stopped there.

 

[disneyfun1]

Followed the "Super Easy" method using a Rockville RW10CA subwoofer, which almost perfectly fits the charger storage compartment. 10" woofer really hits.

which thread number is for the super easy install? how do you like the sound of this install?

 

[disneyfun1]

It's not like I know these colors off the top of my head. I look at the wiring diagrams but yes I agree, I do use my volt meter to make sure.

Sorry to ask, i have not wired any stereos in about 20 + years. Wanted the simple way to add a sub to our 2024 Premium. if i just buy either the Rockville RW10CA or another powered sub type, i can just tap into the power wires behind the power point near factory sub of Violet/brown for +, Black/Green for -, then find the Green/Violet wire for + and Grey for - for speaker input to the powered sub, and all should be good, is that correct or am i forgetting something or need something more?

 

[markboris]

Sorry to ask, i have not wired any stereos in about 20 + years. Wanted the simple way to add a sub to our 2024 Premium. if i just buy either the Rockville RW10CA or another powered sub type, i can just tap into the power wires behind the power point near factory sub of Violet/brown for +, Black/Green for -, then find the Green/Violet wire for + and Grey for - for speaker input to the powered sub, and all should be good, is that correct or am i forgetting something or need something more?

You are correct.

 

[disneyfun1]

You are correct.

thank you for the confirmation and all the information you have put on here

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