DODGE RAM FORUM banner

4TH Gen: Stock Alpine Subwoofer Specs

136K views 61 replies 41 participants last post by  RamRodder76 
#1 · (Edited)
The stock Alpine subwoofer is a dual two ohm voice coil unit sized at 8" in diameter. The entire face is 8.5" and it's 4" in depth.

Two remove the subwoofer from it's box, you must remove the Torx head bolts which are sized at 25. Then, remove the two 18mm bolts holding the box into the cargo tray. Unplug the box, flip it over, and remove the phillips head bolt on the bottom of the box. Turn the box over and remove the subwoofer by disconnecting each of the wiring harnesses.

In my opinion, the plastic box is not suitable for a stronger subwoofer. It will just resonate and flex and the mounting ring is paper thin. The stock Alpine subwoofer is appropriate for this type of enclosure and any need to add more or a different style of bass response should be handled by a different amplifier and subwoofer/enclosure.
 

Attachments

See less See more
2
#7 ·
New to the site here.. wondering if someone could give me a little help. I'm looking to give my stock bass a little more kick and trying to keep it low budget. I have a 250w mono amp that I want to install to the factory sub, and i'm looking for a little guidance to completing this. Has anyone else simply added the amp in? A lot of work?
 
#14 ·
I am using the existing sub wires for my high level input and they are working OK. I'm having trouble getting it dialed in just right. Sounds good at low to medium volume but seems to lose the clarity when I turn it up loud.
 
#17 ·
Interesting... I am guessing that you bought your truck used since I have not seen a factory alpine system without the sub.

To locate the harness... Look under the passenger rear seat in the storage bin. Peel back the carpet on the front lip of the storage bin. The harness should be tucked in there somewhere.

As long as you have the harness then you should be able to just plug in the factory sub and go.
 
#21 ·
Does the Alpine upgrade with the sub available for a 2014 1500 regular cab??? If available, where the heck do they put it???
 
#24 ·
Here's a 2012 Laramie subwoofer setup for future reference. Feel free to put this in the OP if the images help future forum members.

The first image is the storage compartment under the passenger side seat.

The second image is of the subwoofer and its enclosure.

The third image is the wiring harness location which I believe is for the sub, but it might also be for the heated rear seat.
 

Attachments

#28 ·
Definitely not, as I have no under-seat LED's. There are two harnesses (1 per side), and as was mentioned it's not the subwoofer. My best guess is it's for the heated rear seat system.
 
#27 ·
Sold my '12 Laramie crew last year, the Alpine package subwoofer was not too noticable.

Picked up my '15 Laramie crew yesterday...WOW. SOMETHING changed in the 9 speaker upgrade with sub package. Its no monster, rearview rattling sub, but it's certainly louder than the '12. I had to actually turn the bass down on the EQ. Unexpected, but welcome.
 
#32 ·
I just got my 2015 1500 reg cab and it has a 504 watt alpine 7 speaker system and because its a reg cab it sounds really good and the bass is noticable. I havent taken the time to locate all 7 speakers yet
 
#33 · (Edited)
Does anyone know if it's possible to splice in a level control for the subwoofer alone? I think I'm OK with the rear sub in my truck if I could just turn the volume up or down at will. JL Audio's remote volume cable and knob setup comes to mind on this.

EDIT: I found this, but I assume I would have to go install this between the head-unit and the subwoofer amp? Based on a reading of this thread, there's a single amp powering the factory sub, so this may not be possible without a dedicated sub amp?
 
#34 ·
There is only 1 amp that powers all the speakers. this is to convert the speaker outputs to RCA, so you can connect an separate amp. Adding in a speaker volume control will not make your sub any louder, it will just turn it down. IF you want control over your sub, you can add this and another amp with a remote level control.
 
#39 ·
The best fix I came up with is ...leave dash driven from head unit. Take any full range signal and pipe into a JL clean sweep. Now your choices are infinite and every speaker will get exactly what you want. I have just done this with JL speakers all around and added tweeter in pillars - Dynmat the inside of plastic sub box stiffens it up , add polyfil and you have an outstanding system. ( Make all EQ flat on head unit)
 
#40 · (Edited)
I played a lot with the sound on my 8.4 AN Alpine. I wanted a great sound without sacrificing storage space nor any feature like the foldable shelves. It was quite a challenge but I did it. It's a nice weekend project. Here's what I installed:

* Speaker upgrades to Kickers 3.5 for all 3 dash speakers
* Speaker upgrade to JBL 962 in all 4 doors (Dynamat on doors and speaker mounts to stiffen assembly and eliminate vibrations. For the front door speakers, I removed the crossovers located on the speakers (capacitor and resistor) since they are already x-overed by the amp itself.
* Sub upgrade to Pioneer TS-SW2002D2 in stock box (filled with polyfill) and wrapped into Dynamat to limit expansion. it is wired @ 4 ohms.
* Rear overhead speakers switched for Infinity Kappa 10.11t tweeters
* New Mono 300 watts RMS amp @ 4 ohm (Kenwood Xcelon 500.1) - This amp does not have high-level inputs and this was desired as the less an amp does, the better the sound and the lower the temperature
* AudioControl LC2i to convert high level input to adjustable low-level
* AudioControl remote installed in center console to manage bass at will
* Rockville 2 Farad Capacitor to prevent power drains

The sound is very satisfactory and I can drive the head unit at max (38) without detectable distorsion. The little 8 inch sub performs very well. I recently wished to test the Kicker 8" CompS 2 Ohm in order to switch the amp to 1 Ohm and because the specs show that it is stronger and more powerful than the Pioneer, but it came in damaged so my test was not conclusive until now. I will try again later when I get a refund for the damaged speaker.

The least important mod is the front door speakers. They are woofers only and the stock ones don't do a bad job, although the JBLs sound better since they are better quality speakers.

The Pioneer sub does a great job with the little amp. You just have to monitor that LC2i remote knob to avoid blowing it. :) I mostly listen to blues, jazz, lounge and POP (no RAP), so it was never an issue.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top