Upgrading my Tahoe

[Mudfrog 10+ year member]

Hey guys, I have an '02 Tahoe that I'd like to start upgrading. I already have an Alpine UTE-52BT, I'm not pleased with the quality and I will eventually upgrade it but for now it will work. It does have 3 RCA outputs which is a plus.

The Tahoe has 6.5" components in the doors and an 8" shallow mount factory sub. I have an Vibe Litebox 4(90w RMS x4)that I can use to power the components. I'm familiar with Alpine Type S's and I like the way they sound (have them in another vehicle running off the Litebox). I'll probably go back to the Type S's unless there is a better bang for the buck deal out there.

Unfortunately I do not know the box dimensions of the factory sub box, I only know it's pretty small and you need to use a shallow mount sub. Pioneer's slim mount 8" seems to have the best reviews but a lot of those are off of the factory amp. I plan on picking up a class D mono amp with 200-250w RMS. I know I'm not going to get huge sound but I'll take the trade off as I need the cargo space. Eventually I may upgrade to the MTX 10" box but for now an 8" will work for me. Any suggestions on a good 8" shallow mount sub?

If I do not use the LiteBox, I may pick up a 5 channel to run everything off of. I have experience with the Litebox though and it sounds tremendous. My son will start driving the other vehicle so I would put a lesser amp in there for him to use.

If I buy a new amp 5 channel amp I'd like to keep the upgrades to around $1000, if I use my litebox then around $800 or so. Less is always better.

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[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

Scratch the factory sub enclosure. You will be throwing money away trying to reuse that with a new subwoofer. Even an underseat powered subwoofer would probably make you happier.

 

[Mudfrog 10+ year member]

I have read that the JL 8w3 will fit well in the factory box. I really need to keep all of my cargo room so I need to stick with the factory enclosure. Leaning towards that sub.