tehsquirrel Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 I'm installing underseat subwoofers in my 2013 Legacy premium (black cloth heated power driver's, manual passengers) and the power seat mechanism takes up too much space. I need to either convert it to manual or find a manual seat at a salvage yard. I'm hoping somebody here might know if it's easy to just get the rails and change mine over, or if I'm better off doing a full swap. I also wondered if there were any other compatible vehicles -- I know some people say the outback is, but I know some say it isn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubaboo Posted September 5, 2023 Share Posted September 5, 2023 Check out the seat swaps thread a few threads below this for seat swap options. 4th gen Outbacks are basically lifted Legacies so seats will be interchangeable physically. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tehsquirrel Posted September 9, 2023 Author Share Posted September 9, 2023 Thanks for the tip on the OB! I read through that thread a few times, but it doesn't really say if I can take a Power seat and put a manual bottom on it to convert it. I did have a spacer welded into the passenger side to raise that seat up 3/8" and that worked out really well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubaboo Posted September 9, 2023 Share Posted September 9, 2023 That's one way to do it, good idea! What sub did you put in btw? There is an OEM subwoofer that goes under the seat but it its kind of small. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tehsquirrel Posted September 10, 2023 Author Share Posted September 10, 2023 It's a hivi d8.8+, they are an incredible value, built like a tank. It's a 9". 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubaboo Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 7 hours ago, tehsquirrel said: It's a hivi d8.8+, they are an incredible value, built like a tank. It's a 9". Wow you stuffed a 9" down there? Cool! Fiberglass enclosure? How many cu. ft. is that? What does the rest of the system look like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tehsquirrel Posted September 18, 2023 Author Share Posted September 18, 2023 (edited) The response is nuts, but I broke one of my seat bolts off... Are these m10 fine pitch? Here are some pics of the the response and the enclosure: Edited September 18, 2023 by tehsquirrel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tehsquirrel Posted September 18, 2023 Author Share Posted September 18, 2023 I need to take some fresh pics, my midrange and amps are different, but this is the basic idea: The doors also have birch rings and 6.75" SI TM65's... 2 15's true IB, 3 amps, active 3 way front (bliesma t25b, xxm325 mids), audio system amps, minidsp, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubaboo Posted September 18, 2023 Share Posted September 18, 2023 I like the attention to detail you are putting to frequency range of the front stage with decent sized front door speakers plus the underseat driver. That must sound amazing with DSP tuning! What is the biggest speaker you can fit in the dash opening? Will the mid of a 3 way component set like Morel Maximo Ultra's fit in there? Thinking of a small upgrade (front 3way and a sub all off 1 amp, no DSP). I'd be interested in your thoughts on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tehsquirrel Posted September 19, 2023 Author Share Posted September 19, 2023 (edited) Can anybody confirm if the seat bolts are m10 fine thread? I carved my dash up and built custom baffles. I actually just got a 3d printed piece that is made to be fiberglassed onto an oem speaker grill, it will fit up to I think 95mm or so, but it is slightly angled to allow adjustment to tame reflections. The biggest speaker you can get in that space (with cutting up the inside some) is 119mm, 100 is much more doable. Edited September 19, 2023 by tehsquirrel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tehsquirrel Posted September 19, 2023 Author Share Posted September 19, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, Scubaboo said: I like the attention to detail you are putting to frequency range of the front stage with decent sized front door speakers plus the underseat driver. That must sound amazing with DSP tuning! What is the biggest speaker you can fit in the dash opening? Will the mid of a 3 way component set like Morel Maximo Ultra's fit in there? Thinking of a small upgrade (front 3way and a sub all off 1 amp, no DSP). I'd be interested in your thoughts on this. I think the morels would be nice, and I had started with their passive 2 way maximo set a while back and it was really great, my first 3 way setup was actually a slight downgrade (needed better tuning and installation). I noticed a huge difference moving up to a 3" mid from the gb25, and my baffles are screwed in with insert nuts that I epoxied into the dash. Moving to mounted wooden baffles vs mounting speakers on the oem grill made a big difference, as does using thinsulate around that part of the dash, there is a vent underneath both dash speakers, vents carry resonances and the back wave can travel through the dash. The dash where it meets the windshield needs to be solidified some (I used thinsulate in the gap, there, black side up) Just know that playing speakers into the dash gives you a lot of reflections, but also excellent imaging and staging. If you can eq the reflections (the glass reflects sound differently) to be decent then you will have a great image. It is much easier to tune on-axis setups, but I think in the legacy the dash location gives great imaging. Edited September 19, 2023 by tehsquirrel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubaboo Posted September 19, 2023 Share Posted September 19, 2023 (edited) Thanks for taking the time to share your experience! Very impressive system and mad fab skills! Now that you mention it, I do love dash mounted speakers and the stage they give. I have another car (old Mercedes) with dash speaker locations. Sadly they only fit a maximum of 5" (5-1/4" with some hacking) so I put in 4" Morel Maximo Ultra coaxes and they sound great, but thin on the low end. Big frequency gap between the sub in the trunk and the tiny dash speakers lol! Not really keen on making custom door pods or kickpanels, so was thinking of sticking a pair of JBL Fuse passive enclosures under the seats. I saw a review on diymobileaudio they play decently to 200hz. It seems he got banned before being able to post an AAR though! Not much else about them online too. Do you think this will add decent fill with just a 24db slope and no DSP/time alignment? Sorry I couldnt help you with the seat bolt thread. Edited September 19, 2023 by Scubaboo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tehsquirrel Posted September 19, 2023 Author Share Posted September 19, 2023 The trick is with the fuse you have 2 subwoofers, and then if you're running a 3 way there's phase between 8 drivers in the front lining up, I think with no rear sub you have a shot at making it work (but under 35hz will be limited some), otherwise you will need some time alignment. I'm sure it will be a huge improvement, and it could just work out. The fuse are pretty cheap to try, I used the focal isubs for a little while until I built my enclosure. You might be able to play with a manual crossover to get it to work well, but on the fuse you will want a hipass and a lowpass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubaboo Posted September 19, 2023 Share Posted September 19, 2023 Good point on the phase alignments and the need for a bandpass for the Fuse for this application, had not considered that. I do have a 12" Infinity shallow mount in the trunk of this car, so it does get a bit complicated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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