2017 2ss convertible JL powered sub no issues 2021
 

Hello its my first post here but i figured id do my part and contribute to the well of knowledge. I recently installed a 12" jl audio acs112. That is the powered 400w rms all in 1 package. Let me start by saying i am very impressed w the bass it delivers in such a small convenient package. I have a bass knob up front and usually find that 3/4 bass is more then enough to feel it in your chest. Eq on the stock stero has bass at mid line. I listen to all types of music but lately more Rap and Reggeton. When the top is down however i do wish i had a bit more oomph in the chest but it is still very clean. I have since ordered the ported 12" version and will see if that carries the bass i want over with the top down. Tonight i am going to try down firing the sealed sub and giving it a test run JL reccomends to run them this way in a vert. Which ever one sounds best in the camaro will stay and the other is going in my accord.

Part 2 install the powered sub has a built in signal converter and also powers on with the same high level input. You only need to run 8ga power (easy since battery is in trunk. Ground easy too i used a 10mm threaded stud under the trunk carpet by the bose amp. And now the scary part signal.... for the verts on the x1 connector i used posi taps to tap into the front L and R speakers. This is pin 1+5, and 3+7. I will attach a schematic image aswell. The sub comes with a 4 wire quick connect that you wire accordingly +- L +-R and boom youre ready to tune your amp sub combo.

I will add any pictures requested and try stay active for a few weeks /months to try and help anyone out. I will also include my shopping cart and updates on wheather downfiring or ported sounded better to me.

Pictures
 

Here are a few pictures of supplies and the sub.

Also to my surprise i never had x3 plugged in(ANC wires ) i left it that way i hate back up camera beeps and never even knew i didnt have it connected. Last owner might have had the same set up, i found the bass knob wire already run and wires 1+5 had been tapped before.

Thanks! Looks like a pretty straightforward install...it does help that the battery is in the trunk. I’ve been complaining about the crappy bass since I bought the camaro in 2017. What is the knob you got for controlling bass? Where did you mount in the cabin? Where was the wire run from trunk to cabin to control the subwoofer?

Sub Thump also sells a harness that lets you break away the speaker wires instead of using posi-taps. Of course its like a $80 harness versus $7 posi-taps, but if you want to have no appearance of modification it's not a bad way to go.

Totally worth it. Those posi-taps are dicey at best. I have had issues with them in the past with intermittent connectivity and corrosion. They cut your wiring - maybe not all the way through, but they cut it. Never a good thing as far as I am concerned.

-Geoff

Thank you, i used Jl audio RBC-1 luckily the wire was already run by previous owner i used a command strip to mount it near the steering column. Also thank you for the ******** recommendation i did not know they offered this. I honestly never even heard of posi taps before this i was impressed.

Lol why cant we say sub thump? I went with the sealed box btw i thought the ported was unbearable. I now understand ported vs sealed but i feel the sealed more in my chest which i enjoy, the ported made the hair in my ears tingle and to me sounded like the same bass note over and over no matter what song. I returned the ported it will not go in the DD i will most likely wire the DD to accept this sub and when winter comes use the quick connect features and take the sub to the accord.

Mlim1:

• Great topic,, thanks for posting, and I hope you find the bass you are looking for.
• Bass is one of those "compromise" things in audio I believe. Evidence is the voluminous advice on placing subwoofers for your home stereo system and the myriad of settings on subs, including volume, high pass frequency, phase, and often other "slope" related settings. My home sub Sunfire TS EQ-12 has all of them along with a microphone and system for recording bass response with a signal sweep and adjusting it over the full band. You can then blend with your manual settings from 0-100%. This thing has 2,700 watts in a 13" square cube. Pretty rad.
• I had the Bose system in my 2017 ZL1 vert replaced with a Chevy head unit integration box (NAVTV), DSP (Helix), amps (Rockford-Fosgate), speakers (Morel Carbon), including a sub in the trunk (JL Audio).
• I chose the JL 10" sealed low profile sub/box because I wanted to lay it down and still have room for the convertible top to go down on top of it. The JL Audio CS110LG-TW3 is 6.25 inches tall with the grill. I also wanted it to be light enough to comfortably carry out if I needed to maximize my trunk space for some reason. I had the install screw on a plastic carry handle from Amazon. (Note: somehow I did "crush" the back edge of the speaker grill a little.)
• I think in your comparison of sealed vs ported, you hopefully find the best fit for your 2 cars. You can play with the 50-200 Hz crossover and volume. But I've learned to compromise on bass for both home and car stereo - it is tough to get it "perfect". I'm to the point where one of the critical factors is how the song was recorded/mastered - a song/album/band with little bass will have little bass, a rap song with thunder/shake will have huge thump/rumble and will rattle the trunk!
• The Rockford-Fosgate amp is sending 600 watts RMS to this - more than the 400 watt capacity, but whatever. The amp in your powered version sounds perfect. (There is a 600 watt 12" JL speaker, so I'm future proofed to support that.)
• I have a bass volume knob under the dash (plus an input volume, and a button to change between 2 x Helix profiles). This is pretty important to adjust to some music, but CRITICAL for a convertible, to adjust between top up and down. Need more bass with top down of course.
• I highly recommend you use a SpeakOn connection if you want to enable easy disconnection. I play guitar and a little bass, and SpeakOn seems to be a standard speaker cabinet connection in the bass amp world - like my Mesa Subway 1x12 inch cabinet. It's a "twist and lock" connector with the little metal tab to pull before twisting to disconnect. Industry standard and cool.
• I am really happy with the JL sub. Quality kit, sounds great, can handle power.
• If you ever unplug your sub in the car or at home, you'll know that it adds so much to the sound. It's a big gap for Camaro that they never planned one from the factory. I think Mustang has it.
• Let us know how it turns out.

ZL1 Vert Stereo Install