6.5" subs in the rear access cab doors?

Hi,
I have a 2007 tacoma 4x4 with the speaker cutouts in the access cab doors. I've replaced the stock head unit with a Kenwood double DIN with 45W per channel output, supports 4-8ohm loads. I've replaced the front speakers with NXR components (6.5") and am looking for a bit more punch and low end overall.

Criteria:
I'm not looking for the booming, miami-bass sound.
I don't want to add an amp or a box, takes too much space, too fiddly.

I saw on Amazon that someone posted that they put these Skar 6.5" subs in their rear doors. I'm assuming they used an amp, but don't know.



Question:
If I connect

Skar Audio EVL-65 D2 6.5" 400 Watt Max Power Dual 2 Ohm Car Subwoofer

these Skar 6.5" subs just to my head unit will they actually perform with some level of kick? Again, I'm not looking to rattle the license plate frame?

Has anyone custom mounted an 8" speaker in the larger opening below?


Thanks for your advice!

 

I suspect the above rattles a lot more than the license plate frame. And not in a good way. That area makes a poor sub enclosure as-is. And I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that sub is not designed for infinite baffle or something approaching aperiodic.

And wait - power it with any head unit? No, just don't.

That space could probably accommodate a sub, but it would take a lot of work to get it even halfway right.

 

(I might be crazy enough to try it tho!)

Thank you!

 

Sound dampen the hell out of that cavity. And put in a 6.5" midbass ..preferably a shallow mount.

..but power it from the radio? No thanks.

Just buy a 4ch Amp to power your front components and the 6.5" midbass.

Don't cheap out now.

 

i don't know if pioneer still does it, but some of their older radio's had a setup feature to make the rear speaker output act as subwoofers. it worked ok, but was really designed around being used in cars with rear 6x9's that used the trunk as airspace. they were low wattage enough, as well as set up for the air space well enough that it worked pretty well for most people that were looking for a little more kick, but didn't want to put a ton of money into a sub setup.

in this case, you'd be better off looking at cheap/low wattage subwoofers, as wattage is a rough indication of how much power it takes to move the speaker.

but there's also really no way around not using an amp in this case.

the first problem you're going to run into using the factory radio is the wattage. the oem radio does something like 10-12 watts to the front speakers, and something close to 5-10 watts to the rear speakers, but the rear speaker signal is also 'neutered' and is not a full range signal. but also important, the factory radio has a custom eq setup to try to make the most of the factory speakers. so just changing the front speakers isn't going to get you a ton of additional bass either.

so to get any usefulness out of a subwoofer, you really need to be using the front speaker signal. but of course, it can't power the front speakers, and the sub, but we also can't have the sub get a full range signal, which means you need a crossover, and some sort of external amplification. bare minimum, you really need about 30watts rms to get even the most basic of subwoofers to be ok.

 

Thanks guys, note I have a Kenwood 45w/channel head unit so not much but better than factory.

I like the idea of a cheaper sub.

I'm going to look up midbass speaker.

Was thinking about running those subs with a crossover and pulling the tweeters out of the 2-way polks I pulled out of the front doors.

What speaker impedance is a typical crossover expecting?

 

That Kenwood is not giving you 45W/channel. Maybe 15. Which head unit is it?

Midbass drivers are going to be even harder to implement. You still have the power problem, and how are you going to limit the bandwidth to midbass frequencies? Build a custom crossover network? Even then, you still have the power problem. And the enclosure problem.

I get what you're trying to do here, but the easy answer is to do what most others do - get a sub in an enclosure, stick an amp under the seat, and use something like an XT30 connector as a quick release so you can remove it. Or get a powered sub and do the same with quick-connects. You need to enclose subs or midbasses, and that's going to be difficult in that spot...as in you'll need to reinforce some things, fill in holes with custom panels, and stop rattles. Even then it won't be a good sub enclosure because it's going to flex and leak. It's probably not the right aisrpace. And you'll still need an amp and some way to isolate sub-bass signals.

 

TY
It's a Kenwood dmx129bt

I drove the truck for 3 hours yesterday and noticed the tweeters in the back (prob 6.5" 2-way coaxials) were contributing nicely. They're probably the same the previous owner had in the front doors. Some polks.

What's the best door speaker I can pop into the back doors then for better midbass? Is there a generally recommended door treatment regimen?

I'd rather not have a sub getting in the way of cargo space, loading kids for short drives, etc.

Thanks again!

 

Reported power for that head unit is

• Peak: 45 watts x 4 channel
• RMS: 16 watts x 4 channel

Peak is irrelevant. RMS is the number to believe

As far as the best solution, something very efficient will be your best bet. If you're going to stick with head unit power, you need to lower your expectations - bass/midbass requires power and more advanced install technique to maximize goodness - especially if you aren't willing to use enclosures. You could use a super-efficient pro-style driver to make the most of the power available, but if you only want to play midbass frequencies, you'll still have to build a custom passive crossover. That also eats a little power and gives you another reason to explore different solutions. And you still won't have a good enclosure.

Some report satisfaction with underseat subs, but you need to manage expectations there. They will give you a little more low end though if you can live without that space. Considering the current train of thought, it is probably the best solution presented so far.

As for sound treatments, there are quite a few threads here about it. Anything helps in these trucks, but a full treatment is a multi-day commitment and not cheap. It's worth it though. I've fully treated my truck and it's like a luxury vehicle (1st gen).

 

generally, what you hear currently in any speakers location is what any other speaker is going to sound like, irregardless of how much money you throw at it.

if the rear speakers lack bass, you could spend dozens of thousands and it's still mostly going to lack bass. any improvement is going to marginal. a lot of it has to do with the door structure being the 'walls' of the enclosure. they vibrate too much, and cancel out the frequencies being reproduced. there have been guys with other extended cabs that have gone to great lengths to build a fiberglass box that fits within the door structure. these are normally built directly in the vehicle, meaning it can't be used for 2-3 weeks while being built. that method still requires an amp though.

i would agree that an underseat sub might be the best option given the space and usage constraints.

in my old extended cab, i replaced one of the jump seats with an oversized version of the underseat subwoofer, leaving the truck as a 3-seater truck. it worked fine for my needs, and added bass, but was nothing near the 'real' subwoofer quality i was looking for.

 

Very helpful setting of expectations!

Appreciated