mkhuffman
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Mike
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2020
- Threads
- 24
- Messages
- 6,215
- Reaction score
- 8,209
- Location
- Virginia
- Vehicles
- 2021 MME GT, Jeep GC-L, VW Jetta
- Thread starter
- #1
As usual, @markboris leads the way. If you want to install a subwoofer in your MME, you have to read his epic thread: https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/adding-a-decent-subwoofer-amp-to-your-mach-e.5481/
I have been following his thread since he created it. I really wanted to improve the bass in my MME, but I didn’t want to spend the money on the JL Audio subwoofer that Mark raves about. I know it is awesome, and I know I would love it. But I just didn’t want to spend that much, and also I wanted to keep the storage under my hatch floor.
I noticed that there is a ton of room under the front seats that isn’t being used for anything useful. Well, “ton” is an exaggeration, because you definitely cannot fit Mark’s JL subwoofer under a front seat. So I started looking for underseat powered subwoofers, and the Infinity BassLink Mini has great reviews, and is small enough to fit under the seat. (Mark even told me he thought it was a good choice, so what else do you need?)
Infinity BassLink Mini Compact powered subwoofer with 6"x8" sub and 100-watt amp at Crutchfield
So I installed it under my front seat. Here is what the final installation looks like:
A primary goal was to make sure it never got in the way of my feet, and I didn’t want it to be visible when looking in the car. And it is not:
When I drive the car, the seat is all the way back. When my wife drives, she moves the seat forward so her cute little legs can reach the pedals. I noticed that when the seat moves, the space available for a subwoofer goes away. There is a rack under the seat that moves forward with the seat, which meant I could not mount the subwoofer to the floor and also allow the seat to move forward. So I had to figure out a way for the subwoofer to be mounted to the seat so it moves with the seat.
I wandered around Lowe’s looking for what I needed. I figured I could make a 14” drawer slide work, and found a metal bracket that I envisioned attaching to the end of the drawer slides, and flex tubing to cover the wire and very importantly, Gardner Bender Perforated Hanger Strap 32’ roll (way more than what I would need).
So I built up a little assembly of the drawer slides, brackets and hanger straps that would fit under the seat and allow the subwoofer to sit on top, and move with the seat. I painted some of the silver parts black, so they will be less noticeable.
I mounted the black hanger strap connecting the slides in the picture below to the floor with screws into the seat mounting covers.
With my first install, I used high strength velcro to secure the subwoofer to the sliders. However, I was not comfortable with the safety of that approach, so I used the metal mounting brackets that came with the subwoofer to screw attach them to the brackets. I had to bend them as shown in the picture so they could reach the holes in the brackets.
I tested the assembly in the car by moving the seat forward and backwards, and the brackets were catching on the edge of the floor mat and carpet. I have four jack pads that I thought I would install but decided against, so I took one of them, cut the post down, and stuck a chair foot pad on it to sit under the subwoofer and keep it from hitting. Now it slides super smoothly, not hitting anything.
This picture shows the what it looks like before I installed the subwoofer. I attached the hanger straps to the seat so as the seat moves, the top of the sliders move along with the subwoofer.
The picture below is the finished installation. You can see there is clearance between the subwoofer and the seat. The seat in this picture is raised as high as it will go. I can lower it all the way to the bottom, where it does press against the subwoofer. But it still goes all the way down. Also you can see how the jack pad is supporting the subwoofer. If I move the seat 100% to the front, with the steering wheel basically pressed against the back of the seat (exaggeration), the pad does drop off the back of the subwoofer which causes some problems when moving the seat back again. So what? Nobody will ever, ever need to move the seat that far forward. It doesn’t even get close when I move the seat to my wife’s position.
And lastly, here is a video of the finished project and the seat moving from my position, to my wife’s very cute position.
Sooo… how does it sound? Great! I know it does not go as low as the JL goes, and the volume it kicks out is limited. But here is the cool thing: it is under the seat so you can feel the bass. Also, even though it is not super loud, because it is under your seat it is more than loud enough. I am very happy with how it sounds and the way I was able to utilize unused space to improve the sound of the stock audio.
If you want to know how to tie in to the amp, refer to Mark’s thread. I used the subwoofer outputs from the amp in the rear of the car. I ran wires under the rear seats and under the door well covers to get to the front seat:
As you can see in the picture, I have a lot of excess wire. While I could have shortened it, the extra wire is helpful for preventing stress when the seat moves forward and backward.
Let me know if you have any questions regarding what I did! Enjoy your MME!
I have been following his thread since he created it. I really wanted to improve the bass in my MME, but I didn’t want to spend the money on the JL Audio subwoofer that Mark raves about. I know it is awesome, and I know I would love it. But I just didn’t want to spend that much, and also I wanted to keep the storage under my hatch floor.
I noticed that there is a ton of room under the front seats that isn’t being used for anything useful. Well, “ton” is an exaggeration, because you definitely cannot fit Mark’s JL subwoofer under a front seat. So I started looking for underseat powered subwoofers, and the Infinity BassLink Mini has great reviews, and is small enough to fit under the seat. (Mark even told me he thought it was a good choice, so what else do you need?)
Infinity BassLink Mini Compact powered subwoofer with 6"x8" sub and 100-watt amp at Crutchfield
So I installed it under my front seat. Here is what the final installation looks like:
A primary goal was to make sure it never got in the way of my feet, and I didn’t want it to be visible when looking in the car. And it is not:
When I drive the car, the seat is all the way back. When my wife drives, she moves the seat forward so her cute little legs can reach the pedals. I noticed that when the seat moves, the space available for a subwoofer goes away. There is a rack under the seat that moves forward with the seat, which meant I could not mount the subwoofer to the floor and also allow the seat to move forward. So I had to figure out a way for the subwoofer to be mounted to the seat so it moves with the seat.
I wandered around Lowe’s looking for what I needed. I figured I could make a 14” drawer slide work, and found a metal bracket that I envisioned attaching to the end of the drawer slides, and flex tubing to cover the wire and very importantly, Gardner Bender Perforated Hanger Strap 32’ roll (way more than what I would need).
So I built up a little assembly of the drawer slides, brackets and hanger straps that would fit under the seat and allow the subwoofer to sit on top, and move with the seat. I painted some of the silver parts black, so they will be less noticeable.
I mounted the black hanger strap connecting the slides in the picture below to the floor with screws into the seat mounting covers.
With my first install, I used high strength velcro to secure the subwoofer to the sliders. However, I was not comfortable with the safety of that approach, so I used the metal mounting brackets that came with the subwoofer to screw attach them to the brackets. I had to bend them as shown in the picture so they could reach the holes in the brackets.
I tested the assembly in the car by moving the seat forward and backwards, and the brackets were catching on the edge of the floor mat and carpet. I have four jack pads that I thought I would install but decided against, so I took one of them, cut the post down, and stuck a chair foot pad on it to sit under the subwoofer and keep it from hitting. Now it slides super smoothly, not hitting anything.
This picture shows the what it looks like before I installed the subwoofer. I attached the hanger straps to the seat so as the seat moves, the top of the sliders move along with the subwoofer.
The picture below is the finished installation. You can see there is clearance between the subwoofer and the seat. The seat in this picture is raised as high as it will go. I can lower it all the way to the bottom, where it does press against the subwoofer. But it still goes all the way down. Also you can see how the jack pad is supporting the subwoofer. If I move the seat 100% to the front, with the steering wheel basically pressed against the back of the seat (exaggeration), the pad does drop off the back of the subwoofer which causes some problems when moving the seat back again. So what? Nobody will ever, ever need to move the seat that far forward. It doesn’t even get close when I move the seat to my wife’s position.
And lastly, here is a video of the finished project and the seat moving from my position, to my wife’s very cute position.
Sooo… how does it sound? Great! I know it does not go as low as the JL goes, and the volume it kicks out is limited. But here is the cool thing: it is under the seat so you can feel the bass. Also, even though it is not super loud, because it is under your seat it is more than loud enough. I am very happy with how it sounds and the way I was able to utilize unused space to improve the sound of the stock audio.
If you want to know how to tie in to the amp, refer to Mark’s thread. I used the subwoofer outputs from the amp in the rear of the car. I ran wires under the rear seats and under the door well covers to get to the front seat:
As you can see in the picture, I have a lot of excess wire. While I could have shortened it, the extra wire is helpful for preventing stress when the seat moves forward and backward.
Let me know if you have any questions regarding what I did! Enjoy your MME!
