Prius C Stereo Upgrade Part One

So I upgraded my 2012 prius c's stereo 2 years ago changing speakers in the front doors and adding a small amplifier to the stock head unit. I also added strips of dynamat to targeted areas under the front door panels to prevent vibrations.

Components:
Alpine Power Pack KTP-445U 90watts/ 2 rms
Polk db6501 component set
4' sq Dynamat

(Note my prius c is trim level 2.)

I will post photos after I get a few posts in so the forum lets me link them.

I upgraded only the front speakers to save some money. Back speakers seem mostly for fill sound anyway. Overall I like the sound. It's much cleaner and plays louder. I turned the tweeters down from center on the crossovers because they were a little too bright for my taste. I'm quite happy with the install. I just need to boost the bass side of things. I'm gonna work on that next.

Thanks to all of you who posted helpful information on wiring harnesses, your setups, and how you got through problems. They helped me a lot to get the job done well!

Next I'm gonna work on adding a Pioneer shallow subwoofer to boost the low end. TS-SWX2502
My goal is to put it in the trunk and keep it under the mat on one side. I want to put the spare tire on the other side. I'll mount the amp underneath. Aiming for a pretty much stock look afterward.

See the photos here:

Prius C

Pioneer TS-SWX2502 10" Single Subwoofer Enclosure - Newegg.com

 

Upgrade Part Two

I installed a Shallow subwoofer and amplifier under the trunk mat. I also installed an active line converter to keep the preamp signal clean and strong. I used the stock radio and still got great sound!

I felt like I might be spending excessively on the line converter LC2i since it was around $75 when cheap passive ones are like $20 each. However, I believe the LC2i improved my front sound greatly and was a great boost to the sub signal too. I had to turn down the gain on the front alpine power pack to keep it from distorting the front speakers. I didn't have the problem with bass cutoff that some people have mentioned in reviews and the audio control material talks about. However I have plenty of bass with this setup with the Accubass turned all the way down. I also turned the gain on the RF amp to like 3.25 out of 10 as well. I wanted a balanced sound and not the bass overpowering the front speakers.

I'm really happy with how the stereo sounds. Things are much clearer and more powerful in the mids and highs. The bass kicked up like nobody's business! No surprise since adding a 10" sub to a system that had no sub is a big jump. 300 watts rms is well matched to the pioneer sub that says 300 watts rms nominal. I wouldn't want to turn the gain all the way up on the sub amp and risk blowing the sub though.

I'm also very happy with the install because I lost very little trunk space. I took out the stock foam pieces that had surrounded the spare tire and made a board for the amp and a wooden support off that board for the spare tire to move to the left. The sub fits on the right side with an added leg as you can see in photos below. Running power wire from under the rear seat battery was a nice short run. The ground worked well from the bolt holding the center of the rear seat. I did grind paint off the mount with a dremmel. I also was able to attache the included sub mounting plate there too. I just had to drill a much bigger hole in the plate and grind down the ridge on it too.

Finally, I can fairly easily return the car to its stock condition if I need to resell it.
Overall, I'm incredibly happy with the install, and it was a lot of fun to build!!


Parts:
Pioneer TS-SWX2502 10" sub
Rockford Fosgate R500X1D 300 watts X 1 RMS
Audio Control LC2i powered line converter
Dynamat cut in strips

Stock Radio used:


Here's the sub preinstall:


Line Converter before installing under the dash:


Amplifier connected (amp mounting board bolted to the previous spare tire connection):


Subwoofer and Amp installed (You can see silver dynamat strips for sound dampening in places that echoed when I knocked on the metal. The small wooden peg to the left of the amp holds the spare tire in its place.):


Subwoofer view from below:


Ground Connection under rear seat bracket (I also put foam pieces under the legs of the subwoofer to keep them from vibrating when the bass hits):


Amp power connected to 12 volt battery under passenger rear side seat (5/16" ring terminal connection, red wire in shadow above battery terminal) I dremmelled the cover to fit the 8 gauge wire.:


Spare tire placed in space above amp and to left of subwoofer box:


Another view of trunk with everything installed:


Foam added to low spots to balance the floor mat to come above it:


Trunk complete (There's nothing here! Until you hear it!!):


The trunk before the install (I estimate the floor mat was only raised by 1/2" to 1" by the addition of the subwoofer box and move of the spare tire):



I hope you enjoyed! Cheers!

All Pics here:
https://plus.google.com/photos/102095904576459621075/albums/6098453595645147937