Looking at Avalanche

[Bill_AirJunky]

Bill, would that allow the back seat to fold down fully? The midgate is one of the big reasons I went with the Avy, full functionality is a must. It looks really large to allow the seat back to lie flat (well, as flat as it does).

Just wanted to add a thanks for all the suggestions. I don't know this area very well, and those of you that do, I much appreciate the input.

Would I benefit at all going to a 4+1 amp to drive the speakers and the sub? I drive this thing by myself 90% of the time, 8% with someone else in the car, and 2% with anyone in the back. I'm not sure I need to go too nuts with rear speakers.

I believe it does allow the back seat & midgate to fold down flat. I haven't gone that route yet, but I have seen a few guys do it on the Avalanche forum.

I agree that the midgate needs to be able to fold down flat. Besides always having a dog or three in the back, I am doing repairs after the storm the other day & had to haul 10' fence posts & 12' decking in the back today.

Edited November 19, 2015 by Bill_AirJunky

[Nitrousbird]

Door panels are easy to remove in this thing. I've done it a bunch, as I put in components and have killed 3 window motors (well, factory regulator cable broke, aftermarket one broke several years late, and passenger side window motor died).

I did the factory amp harness bypass. I run my speakers off the head unit and subs off of an amp. Built the system in 2006. Didn't have a lot of spare cash at the time so did a big time budget build, but the results vs $$ is very good. If I cared to do more to the truck, I'd swap my amp out with a 5-channel.

[Falko]

Thanks for the link, Bill. Didn't really know there was a dedicated site for the Avalanche, should have figured there was.

I have to plan this in phases, don't have the time to tear the whole truck apart and go nuts. I just want to have a plan as I move forward so everything is accounted and I don't have to re-do anything.

So far here is the plan,

Phase 1:

New component speakers in the front

Coaxials in the rear

4+1 sub to drive it all -OR- 4 ch sub to drive the fronts only and allow the HU to drive the rears.

Phase 2:

new HU

sub driven by amp (either in center console or under rear seat)

[jk13]

Solid plan.

[Bill_AirJunky]

So I contacted the guy selling the sub box on Ebay directly & he said the seat & midgate do NOT fold down flat with it in place. My mistake.

The sub I went with some off brand small 8" self powered subs. It does only OK & is nothing to be excited about.... a far cry from the Kicker in my boat. But it easily fits under the rear seat on the driver's side. I see that companies like Alpine, Kicker, JBL & Kenwood have them now days & would hope that they work better. After a few minutes of looking around, the one that seems to get the best reviews online is the Rockford Fosgate PS-8.

I'll be interested to see which sub you go with. I'm not crazy about giving up the middle front seat. I don't use it that often but is really nice when we do.... 3 couples going to dinner is pretty common, especially this time of year.

Edit: I went thru a chat with a Crutchfield advisor. He said the RF PS-8 is one of the better compact powered subs out there & should be great for the cab of the Av. The HU he advised getting is Kenwood Excelon DPX791BH (I asked him for no touchscreen or nav but good Bluetooth connectivity with a Droid & steering wheel controls). With all the adapters & so on, it came in at $515 shipped.

Edited November 20, 2015 by Bill_AirJunky

[Nitrousbird]

So I contacted the guy selling the sub box on Ebay directly & he said the seat & midgate do NOT fold down flat with it in place. My mistake.

I missed that you stated that. I can 100% confirm it won't fold down much at all (I have 2 10's under the rear seats).

If you need a folding mid-gate with subs still in place, JL has the answer (and it's supposed to be a pretty good answer at that):

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/index.php/lp/pla-jl-audio-stealthboxes/sbgmaval12tw3?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PLA&scid=scplp8691686&gclid=Cj0KEQiApruyBRCFqoDu1pbk9rkBEiQAF8EFdXVuzGtDahdlpjadhRGs1E9CP7tC5EW9BoBL1ihEx30aAtod8P8HAQ

If I end up getting an Escalade EXT for my next truck, I'm going to highly consider that box for my sub needs.

[jk13]

I missed that you stated that. I can 100% confirm it won't fold down much at all (I have 2 10's under the rear seats).

If you need a folding mid-gate with subs still in place, JL has the answer (and it's supposed to be a pretty good answer at that):

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/index.php/lp/pla-jl-audio-stealthboxes/sbgmaval12tw3?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PLA&scid=scplp8691686&gclid=Cj0KEQiApruyBRCFqoDu1pbk9rkBEiQAF8EFdXVuzGtDahdlpjadhRGs1E9CP7tC5EW9BoBL1ihEx30aAtod8P8HAQ

If I end up getting an Escalade EXT for my next truck, I'm going to highly consider that box for my sub needs.

Still not flat due to the depth of the box. Matter of fact even less so. Like I stated above, the only way to not interfere with folding the mid-gate totally flat is a center console sub box like in the JL link I provided earlier. Believe me, we've done under the back seats, on the front of the mid-gate (four 6.5 subs in a removable box and two shallow 8s the same way--but who really wants to remove subs when folded flat?), the replacement mid-gate you linked, and every other configuration you could probably think of including a plethora of direct fit and custom built center console options.

The JL mid-gate box is definitely the most bass you will fit and retain a quasi-usable folding mechanism. But not flat.

Edited November 20, 2015 by jk13

[Nitrousbird]

Still not flat due to the depth of the box. Matter of fact even less so. Like I stated above, the only way to not interfere with folding the mid-gate totally flat is a center console sub box like in the JL link I provided earlier. Believe me, we've done under the back seats, on the front of the mid-gate (four 6.5 subs in a removable box and two shallow 8s the same way--but who really wants to remove subs when folded flat?), the replacement mid-gate you linked, and every other configuration you could probably think of including a plethora of direct fit and custom built center console options.

The JL mid-gate box is definitely the most bass you will fit and retain a quasi-usable folding mechanism. But not flat.

But a 8" sub in the center console is not going to get it done. Plus you loose your center console storage too, so that's just a different trade off.

[jk13]

But a 8" sub in the center console is not going to get it done. Plus you loose your center console storage too, so that's just a different trade off.

--I've never put a single 8" in a GMFS center console. Usually single 10 ported or dual 10s sealed if built custom. Both JL boxes (for bench or full console) use single sealed 10s.

--OP said mid-gate needs to fold flat.

--OP says he's unhappy with current center console storage and may build a new one.

So for the purposes of his situation (not yours) the center console seems the obvious choice. Not everyone is you NB. And that doesn't mean all other answers are wrong.

Edited November 21, 2015 by jk13

[Bill_AirJunky]

--I've never put a single 8" in a GMFS center console. Usually single 10 ported or dual 10s sealed if built custom. Both JL boxes (for bench or full console) use single sealed 10s.

--OP said mid-gate needs to fold flat.

--OP says he's unhappy with current center console storage and may build a new one.

So for the purposes of his situation (not yours) the center console seems the obvious choice. Not everyone is you NB. And that doesn't mean all other answers are wrong.

So the only one I can find is the JL Audio Stealthbox that runs like $600 & pretty much makes the center seat useless. Does the box you built take that seat over or is it underneath that seat? Any pics of it? I assume you'd use one of those low profile subs?

Edit: Now that I said that, I found this. It's still only an 8" sub. But kinda looks like there might be room for a 10.

Edited November 21, 2015 by Bill_AirJunky

[jk13]

So the only one I can find is the JL Audio Stealthbox that runs like $600 & pretty much makes the center seat useless. Does the box you built take that seat over or is it underneath that seat? Any pics of it? I assume you'd use one of those low profile subs?

Edit: Now that I said that, I found this.

We ran into very few 6 passenger Avys and most of them got the rear sub options that limited the gate fold. We did one like the build you linked but I cannot remember what we put in there as it wasn't my work. I do remember the comfort rating of that seat went from a 6 to about a 1 with the tiny bit of padding he was able to put on top.

We only did full consoles in trucks that came with buckets and stock full consoles, or removed the 20 of the 40/20/40 front seat. Falko mentioned Bose so I assumed his had the full console as that's where the Bose amp and sub live. Now that I go back and re-read he only mentioned Bose in reference to where the tweeters would be with that system, so I guess I'm not sure which setup he has.

Edited November 21, 2015 by jk13

[Bill_AirJunky]

Yea, I figured that seat wouldn't be very comfortable. Still useable... sorta.

Found a prefabbed sub box by Qlogic. Goes under the back seat & holds a 10. $250 plus the sub speaker itself. Looks like the seat might fold down flat.

[Falko]

That's pretty much my center seat. I'm not worried about losing that seat, I really don't need it. But that pic is what I was thinking of doing, if not dropping the sides down even further (if possible) to give it more volume. In doing some reading this weekend, it looks like an 8" ported unit could provide a decent amount of bass. Is there a benefit to going 10" sealed vs 8" port? I've seen the curves and all, but real world I don't have experience in this area.

As I said, I don't need it really thumping, just something to add some extra. For example, my last car (Saab 9-3) had a factory Bose system. The sound was pretty good imho, but even with the sub, it was there, but not enough, needed a little more.

To clarify, I do not have the Bose system, I have the center seat, not console. I can lose that seat, not worried about that.

On a side note, have any of you done the transfer case fix to prevent the pin hole wear?

Edited November 23, 2015 by Falko

[blk93jeepzj]

I went down the road of wanting some more bass in out Avy and still wanted to retain the ability to use the folding midgate. That one of the reasons one has an Avy, correct? So these will fit under the rear seats, one on each side and have been notched for the bolts and other fastener points. The padding needs to be removed under the factory Avy carpet IIRC. Don't add any padding or carpeting on the underside of the box. Space is very limited under and around the seat cross members. I planned on just spraying mine with ruck bed liner.

Here are the plans for the pair of 8" boxes that I built (found them on the Avalanche forum). I have built a pair of boxes just have not installed them and still need to purchase a pair of subs to put in them. Other things have been more pressing, then we sold our house and I have no workshop at the moment to tinker in. The pictures are of the originals not mine.

The subs that the original owner and designer of the plans used were a pair of the kicker comp 8", in fact that's what he designed the boxes around.

Hope this helps and let me know if you have any questions. I can email you the plans if the pdf does not show up correctly too.

Avalanche sub box.pdf

[Bill_AirJunky]

Yea, I've been going thru the Avy site looking at these plans lately. I'm just not really confident that I can make the box with all the compound angles right. Also, which Kicker Comp 8" speakers do you use? Theres like 6 different models. I found one called the CompR that is only $50 on Amazon. Min box volume is .4. Looks similar to the pics posted above. Reviews are good... even to the point that I wonder if 2 are really necessary.

Edited November 24, 2015 by Bill_AirJunky

[Falko]

I get concerned with the speakers sitting face up and unprotected. I use my rear seat folded up a lot, that could get something dropped on it pretty easily.

I found a good site describing how to determine if a sub needs sealed or ported design and the volume/port information.

My new KYB shocks just came in today, so that is priority one. Then starting on the stereo build. With the holidays here, it isn't going to be an overnight thing for sure.

[blk93jeepzj]

Yea, I've been going thru the Avy site looking at these plans lately. I'm just not really confident that I can make the box with all the compound angles right. Also, which Kicker Comp 8" speakers do you use? Theres like 6 different models. I found one called the CompR that is only $50 on Amazon. Min box volume is .4. Looks similar to the pics posted above. Reviews are good... even to the point that I wonder if 2 are really necessary.

Really it was not bad building the box with the angles that were listed. I minimized the gaps the best could then used body filler to smooth help the surface.

Black and yellow Comp speaker not the CompR. Boxes were all similar cubic feet requirements but the mounting depth was 3 7/8" IIRC. I believe that the sub came in 2, 4, or 8ohm depending on application.

As a question to you audio gurus.....which ohm configuration would you go with? And is there an amp you would recommend? Mine are going in an 2012 Avy and I plan on keeping the factory head uni. Thanks in advance.

Edited November 24, 2015 by blk93jeepzj

[Bill_AirJunky]

Hmmm, well, I found 4 different Kicker speakers with black/yellow. All list for $80 on Crutchfield. All are 3 7/8" deep. 50- 200 watts RMS. The last # in the p/n is their impedance so 2 are 2 ohm & 2 are 4 ohm.

Kicker 40CWD82 Kicker 40CWD84 Kicker 40CWS82 Kicker 40CWS84

[shawndoggy]

D = dual voice coil, S = single voice coil

So they have dual 2, single 2, dual 4, and single 4.

[shawndoggy]

As a question to you audio gurus.....which ohm configuration would you go with? And is there an amp you would recommend? Mine are going in an 2012 Avy and I plan on keeping the factory head uni. Thanks in advance.

How are you going to connect your sub amp to your factory HU?

The amp will dictate what impedence you need to run. Basically you'd want to run the lowest impedance your amp can handle because that's where your amp makes the most power. JL HD series excepted, of course.

[blk93jeepzj]

Line out converter is the way I have hooked subs up in the past and my plan for this build as well. I am open to suggestions if there is a better way.

So a 2ohm would be the best application and find an amp to match that?

[Bill_AirJunky]

D = dual voice coil, S = single voice coil

So they have dual 2, single 2, dual 4, and single 4.

Geez, more choices?

So I was thinking of using a mono amp like the Pioneer GM-D8601 which can be wired for 2 ohms (500 watts) or 4 ohms (300 watts). If I choose to run one sub now & possibly build a 2nd one depending on how that goes, which sub do I go with? Seems like the 2 ohm, dual voice coil has the most options using the most power, right?

[Falko]

Mission creep.

So after driving for a little while, I miss my standard, or I guess I should say I miss being able to control my gear selection, easily. The column shifter is 1-in the way of the climate controls a bit, 2-cumbersome to hit a gear when shifting.

Now just looking around, it seems that Carr Winters makes a nice console shifter. And since I am probably going to be building a new console for the truck anyway....

[Michigan boarder]

MAJOR mission creep! Post pics of that process!

[Falko]

It will be documented. It will be part of stage 2 of the stereo build, with the sub box center console.