Let's get this straight: I am a complete f@cktard when it comes to car audio. I am also the embodiment of the dumb@ss trifecta:

[1] I don't know what to buy.
[2] I don't know where to buy it.
[3] I don't know how to install it.

I have a factory Bose setup and simply want to add an aftermarket subwoofer and amp to enhance the lowend and take the fuzzy Bose sub out of the picture.

As always, I want to spend as little as possible but I still want quality (also known as Bang for the Buck). I'd love something that minimizes the space it takes up in the trunk, but would settle for something easily removable for when I need the room.

My musical tastes are all over the board, so this isn't solely to relive Tupac's heyday.

For the love of God, someone tell me what to do.

Just added a sub and amp. Pretty much just walked into Car Toys and picked out some stuff, they installed it that night. I got a 10" sub with a 200w amp and think it sounds great with the factory system. Plus it didn't kill all of my trunk space.

EDIT: Remembering prices now... I think the amp was around $200, the sub $150 and labor/cables/misc around $100. So the whole thing was under $500.

get a monster cable line converter

a sub

an amp

you'll be rocking

I think you will find a single 10" sub in a small enclosure will provide sufficient bass in the B5. It will round out the bottom end but not over power the rest of your system.

Use this how-to at your own risk! I am not responsible for any damage you do to your car. From following these instructions, I am just going off of mememory and I may have left out some steps.

If this sounds overwhelming, take it to a reputable car audio shop not Best Buy or Circuit City, and have them do the work.

Disconnect the negative terminal from the battery.

The head unit comes with pre-amp outputs, except they aren't your typical RCA connections. You can tap the wires from behind the head unit with an rca connector that is stripped and tapped into the rear amp outputs from the headunit (use scotch taps). Now you can add rca cables to the trunk of the car and to your amp. You want to also find the remote turn on wire and run it with the rca cables. This way the amp knows to turn off and on when the radio does.

The biggest PITA is running the various cables through the car. You need to remove the back seat (which is simple- just pull up and out), and some interior panels.

Run the power and ground cables down the drivers side. You can run the power cable directly to the battery through the wires that run from the ECU into the passenger compartment. Cut a hole through one of the rubber grommets in the box that holds the ECU and fish it to the battery. But do NOT hook up the power cable yet.

The ground cable I just sanded away some paint under the scuff plate for the rear seat. Drill a pilot hole and use a self-taping screw with a locking washer to fasten the ground cable.

Run the rca cables down the passenger side. You should seperate the power cables from the signal cables, this will reduce the chance of picking up noise. Connect the corresponding rca cables to the left/right channels and the remote turn on wire to the amp. Connect the speaker wire to the sub-woofer. Connect the power cable and ground cables to the amp. Connect the power cable to the battery. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE AN INLINE FUSE! THE FUSE THAT'S ATTACHED TO THE AMP IS NOT SUFFICIENT TO PROPERLY PROTECT YOUR AMP! Re-attach the negative cable to the battery.

Turn down the gain or output on the amp all of the way down. Start the car and turn on the radio. Put in a cd you know well and turn it up to a moderate listening volume. Turn up the gain on the amp until you have the amount of bass you like. Enjoy!

I added a JL 12W6 and a JL 500/1 with remote gain to my bose system. I installed the remote gain control in the left hand panel below the steering wheel. It sounds killer, i can have the bass up when i want it, and can turn it down when ever i need to.

just my .02c on equipment

You bought one of <a href="http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_subs.php?series_id=4">these</a> (?$350):

<img src="http://www.snapbug.ws/images/jl12W6v2.jpg">

And also bought one of <a href="http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_amps.php?amp_id=252">these</a> (?$350):

<img src="http://www.vltava2000.cz/shops/2916/images-goods/500_1_400.jpg">

Perhaps a little out of my budget range. Then again, maybe I'm being unrealistic with regards to how much I would have to spend?

for $750. so the sub, amp, wiring, low level converter.

id be happy to help advise / install.

you're heard my setup. it soundsgood for what i paid. i'm very happy.

I got an amp and 2 12" subs for 475. Did all the installation myself, it's fun to play with toys.

You have a Alpine MRD-M301 amp and a 10" Boston Acoustics sub, correct?

If so, your setup did sound sweet and now have the funds to make this work.

If you are one and the same, by all means shoot me an e-mail so I can harass you with questions. :)

Hell if I know, but I <I>think</I> these products provide the same functionality:

<B>Monster Cable Factory Linx FX100</B> [<a href="http://www.bavariansoundwerks.com/product.php?PA=&II=329">LINKY</a>]

<img src="http://www.bavariansoundwerks.com/images/datapage/MonsterCableFactoryLinxFX_dp.jpg">

<B>AudioLink PowerLink II</B> [<a href="http://www.crutchfield.com/S-TrUWsLmppwM/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=721&I=101PL2">LINKY</a>]

<img src="http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/lifestyle/2000/l10S101PL2.jpeg">

Were talking $70 for the former and $30 for the latter. HELP!!

I have zero history with this type of stuff and quite frankly, I'm afraid I'll screw something up royally.

Of course I understand that means I'll probably have to pay someone to do it, just difficult to let someone whack away at your ride that you don't know (I despise car audio salesmen).

Of course I'm always willing to accept the assistance of others in return for food/beer. :)

you got it right except its a 12" boston pro

lemme know if you want help.

I meant to do this upgrade a long, long time ago, but always had something financially demanding that would pop up. Everything seems chill now, so the time is right.

I imaging I'll be taking you up on that offer of help. On the bright side, I now have a nice garage to do the work. Woot!!

lemme know. its an easy job.

well i was just giving an example. With the remote gain you could use a larger sub and have the bass turned down when you want it. I also had the sub and amp left over from my previous car. If you look on ebay you can normaly find pretty good deals. If you want a low mounting depth sub to take up less trunk room i would recomend http://earthquakesound.com/sws.htm
they are reasonably priced and they sound pretty good.