want the most from stock amp! what new sub? *98 mountaineer*

[rew729]

I have a 1998 Mercury Mountaineer with MACH audio system. I have swapped the head unit which caused me to bust my stock 8" sub twice. "How did you bust the same sub twice?" you might ask. Well I, with the help of Elmer's Stix-All, glued the foam surround back together, allowing me to use the sub for another six months with no problems. Now I want to put a new sub in place of the stock one. I dont know too much about the sub itself other than it's size. Here's what I know about the sub and dedicated amp.

The stock sub is a Ford branded 8" JBL with paper cone and foam surround. has a mounting depth of about 4-3/8 to 4-1/2 inches (110 - 115mm)

The stock amp that powers that sub is rated 85watts RMS (170watts Peak) @ 4ohms.

There are two subwoofers that I am debating between right now.

1.) JBL GTO804

200watts RMS

800watts Peak

Efficiency: 91dB

High Roll Rubber Surround

(I know this can handle what I'm putting out without busting, but I'm thinking it may be overpowered for the 85 watts RMS from the amp and that I may not get as much from it as i would from the JL below )

2.)JL Audio 8W0 or JL Audio 8W1v2

~90watts RMS (optimal: theres a power chart on their site)

~200watts Peak

Efficiency: ~85dB

Foam Surround

(The power ratings are closer to the amp so i think i will get more out of them but scared that i might bust them the same way as the stock) I also believe that JL is a better maker than JBL.

I know that I will get less from the JBL GTO804 but will it be really weak considering the 85RMS the amp puts out? And are there other things for me to consider? Sorry for the long post but I wanted to give you all the Info. Thanks In Advance!

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[Wkbdkid 10+ year member]

The first thing you need to figure out is what impeadance is the amp getting from the stock sub. IDK bout the mach audio stuff my guess would be 4ohms? Once you have that figured out then you can pick a sub to match the amp.

 

[Wkbdkid 10+ year member]

An easy way to do this is to get a digital multimeter(DMM) and find out the impeadance of the stock sub. An welcome to the forum:thumbsup:

 

[rew729]

It's 4 ohms

 

[XanderMoser 10+ year member]

I know that I will get less from the JBL GTO804 but will it be really weak considering the 85RMS the amp puts out? And are there other things for me to consider? Sorry for the long post but I wanted to give you all the Info. Thanks In Advance!

That's a misconception. Yes, the power handling for the JBL is higher. But it is also more efficient. That means that it will get louder on the same amount of power. But because it can take much more than the stock amp can cleanly deliver, you need to be careful not to start clipping the amp. Out of those choices, I'd go with the JBL

 

[rew729]

I understand what clipping is but can that cause damage to the subwoofer and/or amplifier or will it just sound bad and i will have to turn it down.

I'm also open to any other suggestions for other subwoofers if anyone has any.