SoonishEV sub box BUT with 10" 10TW1 and extra 12v Battery install pics!!

[tmbm50]

Hi All,

Like most of you I found the premium sound in my R1T quad to be lacking. I'm also coming from a Tesla Model X where my 12v battery was replaced yearly for quite a while and was quite annoying to get at.

So I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone into this project.

I also noticed that the JL Audio 10" 10TW1 calls for the same .35 sqft box as the 8" 8W1v3 that the Soonish box (by @Sojhinn) was designed for. And well, bigger is better right? Now, the 10TW1 displaces a bit more in the box and reduces the actual volume so I added some fiber fill to compensate. It was a bit tricky using a 9" hole saw to enlarge the whole but I was able to do so pretty cleanly and the 10TW1 fit perfectly.

I also opted for the Kicker LX 8501 amp given the 10" sub has a little more power handling than the 8". One downside is the amp is bigger and won't fit behind the tub. So my amp is being mounted in the tub with wires passed-thru a few holes I drilled and filled with grommets. Its not as clean, but actually fits perfectly snug in the bottom of the tub like it was made for it and looks fairly clean with the wires exiting out the back. The pictures are during testing before fitting in the tub.

I also took the time to add a second 12v battery. I know, unsupported etc etc. The batteries used in the Rivian (and tesla) are the tiniest, low amp battery you can get. Charging algathorims aside, it would take just one or two bad updates and the batteries are toast, there is just so little reserve. There are options for lithium of course but a trick I used my Tesla was to just add a second battery. I had tried an early Ohmmu battery with the Tesla and generated just as many 12v errors due to the difference in voltage curve.

I use the same 20AH AGM rating giving me an effective 40AH battery. In my Tesla this ended my cycle of replacements. Here is hoping the Rivian will go 3-4 years without replacement.

I used an XS 750 battery (its the same physical size as the Rivian 12v), and it tucks nealy behind the tub and has a 150amp fuse. The XS is also a bit better battery than the stock one.

Pics during testing, I've since cleaned it up and done the final wire routing and tub install:

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[Jonjon09]

Thanks for sharing. Good to know a 10" fits in that enclosure!

I ended up getting the JL audio 8W3v3-4 instead of the 8W1v3-4 for the additional 100W RMS and I got the KICKER - CX 800W (300W @ 4ohm) which is the same size as the 400W amp recommended by the vendor. The CX800 should work for others wanting the 10" sub and still be able to hide it behind the tub.

I'm honestly a bit underwhelmed with the bass still so I may still need to tweak the knobs to get more out of it. I tuned it based on the 3/4 rule using a voltmeter and it does kick pretty well at higher volume but I barely hear it when at a volume below 15. Hopefully it truly is just a settings issue and not due to the difference box volume requirement of .3 instead of .35? Don't know enough about that to know if that is a big deal or not.

 

[tmbm50]

Sound is subjective of course, but I found the 10" to be too much other than when I want to be be fun and annoy the wife. So I'm using the remote-knob to keep it a little more tame for day to day driving.

A 10" is close to 50% greater surface area, all things equal.

 

[SeaGeo]

Thanks for sharing. Good to know a 10" fits in that enclosure!

I ended up getting the JL audio 8W3v3-4 instead of the 8W1v3-4 for the additional 100W RMS and I got the KICKER - CX 800W (300W @ 4ohm) which is the same size as the 400W amp recommended by the vendor. The CX800 should work for others wanting the 10" sub and still be able to hide it behind the tub.

I'm honestly a bit underwhelmed with the bass still so I may still need to tweak the knobs to get more out of it. I tuned it based on the 3/4 rule using a voltmeter and it does kick pretty well at higher volume but I barely hear it when at a volume below 15. Hopefully it truly is just a settings issue and not due to the difference box volume requirement of .3 instead of .35? Don't know enough about that to know if that is a big deal or not.

Tweak some things. With the standard S00nish setup I was able to easily cause parts of my rear seat to rattle and had felt it if I play it loud with the bass on the remote cranked up. I feel like a teen driving a 90s Civic at that point.

 

[Jonjon09]

Haha yeah I'm still a bass head at heart so glad to hear that! Mind sharing your settings? Did you do it by ear?

I can get some rattle at higher volumes but I was hoping to hear more bass at lower volumes as well without blowing the speaker out at higher volumes of course.

 

[SeaGeo]

Haha yeah I'm still a bass head at heart so glad to hear that! Mind sharing your settings? Did you do it by ear?

I can get some rattle at higher volumes but I was hoping to hear more bass at lower volumes as well without blowing the speaker out at higher volumes of course.

Do you have the remote? I have my settings setup so that I have my remote to the middle, but when I want to get "feel it" bass I'll just turn that up. It's very rare that I have my sound system above 15, and I have the EQ flat anymore.

I don't remember what my settings were. My truck is the one in the installed video, so it's been awhile since I have seen my amp.


@Sojhinn also has a new amp that he installed in his truck (and now in our R1S) that has the ability to calibrate the settings a bit as well. It's does seem to produce a cleaner sound.

 

[Jonjon09]

Do you have the remote? I have my settings setup so that I have my remote to the middle, but when I want to get "feel it" bass I'll just turn that up. It's very rare that I have my sound system above 15, and I have the EQ flat anymore.

I don't remember what my settings were. My truck is the one in the installed video, so it's been awhile since I have seen my amp.


@Sojhinn also has a new amp that he installed in his truck (and now in our R1S) that has the ability to calibrate the settings a bit as well. It's does seem to produce a cleaner sound.

Oh cool then I assume it's the settings from the video too! That's a good idea, the tuning videos all said to tune it with the remote knob all the way up but I think your way makes more sense to get the most bass, I'll just need to remember to not have it all the way turned up when going higher on the head unit volume!

 

[SeaGeo]

Oh cool then I assume it's the settings from the video too! That's a good idea, the tuning videos all said to tune it with the remote knob all the way up but I think your way makes more sense to get the most bass, I'll just need to remember to not have it all the way turned up when going higher on the head unit volume!

Ha. Yeah, those would be my settings then. lol.

 

[Jonjon09]

Just wanted to follow-up - I definitely had the subwoofer underpowered by following the 3/4 rule and voltmeter method. It is the safe method but it's not the one that gives me what I want.

I now have the whole truck shaking haha. Thanks for motivating me to take the backseat apart again! So elated to have GOOD bass finally even at lower volumes by using your trick of setting it using the halfway mark on the remote knob.

Now I have a new (good) problem - some songs at higher volumes (around 20) I think the cone is hitting the sound deadening piece under the seat! xD So definitely turning the bass knob down on those songs! But I rarely crank it up that high anyway.

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