Help a newbie with a vintage car and a completely hidden system....

[greaser1938]

OK guys... I have '49 Ford and I recently built and installed a completely hidden system using my iPhone instead of a head unit. To this point, it's a very simple setup. I am running this amp:

https://www.polkaudio.com/products/pad4000

My two front channels drive a pair of these:

https://www.infinityspeakers.com/KAPPA+693.11I.html

And then the two rear channels are bridged to power this sub:

CP108LG-W3v3 - Car Audio - Subwoofer Systems - MicroSub

Given the budget amp and the limited 6x9 speakers, the system sounds surprisingly good. I was amazed once I got the gains and crossover points set. Super happy when I'm listening to early outlaw country and most rock.

However, I have a guilty pleasure of consuming 90's era gangster rap as well... and when listening to some of my favorites, I wish I had just a little more volume at the lower end. Not deeper really... just a little more punch.

And the thing is, the cp108 sub fits perfectly hidden under the passenger side of my rear seat - leaving the driver's side open and seemingly begging for one more cp108.

Could I pull it off? And if I could, what benefits would I get out of it?

My amp won't run a 2ohm load when bridged, so I guess I would have to run the subs at lower power in stereo utilizing both rear channels at 125w each (rather than the single sub bridged at 200w)?

What do you guys think? I have no interest in changing amps or adding another, but I would absolutely consider finding another cp108 if the benefit was there.

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions!

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[aeroportspwn 10+ year member]

Imo, I wouldn't add another sub if you are going to under power everything and you said you didn't want to change out the amp or add another. I say save up and get a better amp.

 

[greaser1938]

Imo, I wouldn't add another sub if you are going to under power everything and you said you didn't want to change out the amp or add another. I say save up and get a better amp.

Thank you sir for the sanity check.

 

[bigblank69 10+ year member]

Honestly I don't think you'll like the results... I have Dyno'd that polk amp, and your Sub is getting more power than you think (My Dyno showed 500W Rms at 4 ohms bridged). You will be going from 400-500W down to 300W total (I got 150W at 4 per channel) So you will go from powering 1 sub perfectly to underpowing 2 subs. I KNOW you don't want to hear this... BUT! I would suggest you pick up a Polk PAD2000.2. You can get one as a Amazon Warehouse Deal for $88. (Hell it's probably the one I returned during the summer when I changed my mind on my set up) and that can run your fronts, and you can use the PA4000 on the subs bridging the channels for the W3s. It's also not much bigger than a external CD Drive so you can mount it anywhere and not worry about taking more of the limited space in your ride. That is your BEST bet with what you want to do.

 

[greaser1938]

Honestly I don't think you'll like the results... I have Dyno'd that polk amp, and your Sub is getting more power than you think (My Dyno showed 500W Rms at 4 ohms bridged). You will be going from 400-500W down to 300W total (I got 150W at 4 per channel) So you will go from powering 1 sub perfectly to underpowing 2 subs. I KNOW you don't want to hear this... BUT! I would suggest you pick up a Polk PAD2000.2. You can get one as a Amazon Warehouse Deal for $88. (Hell it's probably the one I returned during the summer when I changed my mind on my set up) and that can run your fronts, and you can use the PA4000 on the subs bridging the channels for the W3s. It's also not much bigger than a external CD Drive so you can mount it anywhere and not worry about taking more of the limited space in your ride. That is your BEST bet with what you want to do.

Oh man... adding the PAD200.2 is tempting. Really tempting. I have two concerns though:

1. As I mentioned, I've gone to great lengths to hide this whole system. The car (1949 Ford coupe) is a very traditional custom built as if some high school kid built it in around 1955. I've gone so far as to completely hide the 4AWG power cable from the amp in the main wiring harness all the way up to the battery under the hood. I even wrapped it in vintage braided wire loom... It took forever... and was a total pain in the ***. Could both the amps run off the same 4AWG power cable if I used an appropriate power distribution block?

2. Along those same lines, the car is running a generator... not an alternator. With the current amp, the generator does a decent job of keeping up with the electrical demands. Would adding a second amp pull much more draw?

 

[bigblank69 10+ year member]

The 2000.2 really doesn't pull much current, you might be ok.

 

[greaser1938]

Plot thickens... Last night, I decided to hook up a 20 year old Petra 10" in a ported box that has been sitting in my attic since I was a teenager. The sound was perfect... It's exactly what I want...

The only thing is, the enclosure doesn't fit/hide well in my trunk. It's not that it's too large really, it's just the wrong shape...

So, now I'm thinking of returning the JL 8" and building my own enclosure of a really nice 4-ohm sub of some kind...

View attachment 26557123

 

[bigblank69 10+ year member]

If your thinking of switching boxes... Return the JL Sub, and get a Dayton HO 12 SVC 4ohm. GREAT Output especially down low, and box size requirements are tiny. Probably perfect for what you want to do.