Hello everyone,

Im new here and just ordered a new HHR yesterday, so now the wait begins.................

I know these vehicles are brand new, but surely somebody has started investigating the best options for sub installs. Could a 10" sub be put in place of the factory one?

Could someone post some pics of the rear cab area with the carpet out and the bins exposed and/or pulled out. I want to start designing for the install of two 10" subs and am hoping to be able to incorporate it into the cab floor or sidewalls without the removal of the spare tire.

Thanks,
Todd

I would do that but my car is loaded with stuff from my recent move...

anyone else?

-WC

I took pictures but I don't know how to post them from my hard drive. I can work on a car but I hardly know s**t about my computer. If someone helps me figure that out I'll post them.

Go to Photobucket.com and register for a free account...

upload ur pics...

it will then give u an "IMG" tag for each pic cut and past that into here...

boom your good to go...

-WC

Here you go:

http://www.songramp.com/photos/ArtistArticle5395.jpg

:thumb:

ok because I'm too lazy to go downstairs and look is that cutout standard on all HHRs? even if u dont have the upgraded sound?

-WC

Yep. :thumb:

so it would be possible to wire one in there then...and now for the $64,000 question...is there any pics with the factory sub installed?

-wc

Thanks for the help Wheelsee! :thumb: I think my 9 year old step daughter knows more about the computer than me. I have the premium system, here are my pics
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/thegirls014.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/thegirls013.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/thegirls012.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/thegirls011.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/thegirls010.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/thegirls009.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/thegirls008.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/thegirls007.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/thegirls006.jpg

I love the location of the battery! Easy to wire amps and no need for a battery relocation kit. If you need any more pics or any measurements let me know. In return please show pics when you are through and provide any usefull tips you learn from your install with the forum. Good luck! :thumb:

Thanks for the shots

I can't wait till I get some sound in my hhr.

Wow, you guys are great......

Thanks for the pics and the response, this is very helpful. It does look like it would be impossible to get a sub or two under the cargo area, without taking out the spare(and im not willing to do that). Im wondering if a 10" could be squeezed in place of the pioneer sub spot, and then maybe another 10" could be put in directly across from it in the same place. I dont know if I would be willing to cut up the plastic walls though........... :eek:

If anyone happens to take off the panel with the pioneer sub in it could they please post a pic, i'd like to see what we have to work with back there.

Thanks for everyones help,

Todd

lol spare tire is GONE for me. Gives me plenty of room. Its called road side assistance. :)

On the OTHER HHR site, there is an article on a Boston Acustic system designed to go in spare cargo area with spare tire. Can be seen and read about, here

http://www.hhrclub.org/galleries/hhr-audio-system-concepts/

Later,
Mark

Thats why they make run flats. I had a set of Toyo Proxies on Mustang and I ran over a piece of metal in the parking lot of where I work. I work at a large machine shop so it wasn't a little piece of metal that would cause a slow leak it was a big sharp chunk that punctured the tire and drained all the air. I drove home 13 miles at an average speed of about 80 and never even noticed it pulling or anything. It was my rear drive tire. I was able to have it plugged with no sidewall damage. You have to love run flats. If there is one thing I learned from the import and foriegn crowd is that you need run flats. Then you could ditch your spare with no second thought. Sorry i keep bringing up my Mustang now that I'm a Chevy guy.

On the OTHER HHR site, there is an article on a Boston Acustic system designed to go in spare cargo area with spare tire. Can be seen and read about, here

http://www.hhrclub.org/galleries/hhr-audio-system-concepts/

Later,
Mark

Not bad but its more fun to design your own.

amen

Ive been racking my brain trying to figure out how I can add subs without taking out the spair plus leaving the cargo are open and I can't.So last night I decided I'm going to lose the spare tire and build a sub floor.I figure if I go on a road trip it wont be a big deal to throw the spare in the back and I will just take advantage of the roadside around town.If anybody as any plans of putting in a subfloor let me know.As always pics would be awesome.I think I may start this weekend.

I've been thinking about doing the same thing. I just don't want to loose all my space back there. I've almost decided on just putting a jl w6 (i think it will fit) where the factory sub goes. But if you can figure anything out it'd be nice to see what you think. The only thing I could come up with would be to take out the spare and mount everything underneath and then build some type of grill or something ontop of it. I just don't see how that would look good. If it could be done I think if you could make a bandpass box and port it and have the holes going the two compartments right by it it'd look nice. I don't know I'm just babling. :)

btw captain If you can get me some pics of what it looks like behind the panel where the factory subs goes thatd be awesome. I'd just like to know what I'm getting into before I tear into it.

I saw a post on here somewhere that had pics of the factory sub.

I don't have many but here you go:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/Picture190.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/Picture189.jpg
I have to pull it out again this weekend so I'll snap some more shots for you Adam. It's not that hard to get it out but it's a pain in th a**. You have to pull out most of the panels in the back in the middle and drivers side. The lower panel that hides the sub is locked into the panel above it surounding the back window. The factory box is very shallow and the factory sub is bolted in to the back of the box. Of course that's after I put the Audiobahn in the box, you don't really want to see the ugly crap factory sub.

http://www.edesignaudio.com/product.php?cid=15&tab=Gallery&pid=32&cur=USD

if u want to add bass and not lose the spare tire look into thouse... they fit between the floor and the tire if u take out that plastic crap inbetween... ill be installed 6 in a false floor hopefully soon.. there 6.5" drivers.. soo cute lol there orded n should arive soon... what i would like to know from howdy is how he got that side panel out... maybe some pics or something... i havnt looked or tried but id like a heads up before i head out there n do it myself... thats a great spot to install the amp for the subs...

I'll do it again over the weekend and post pics.

Ive been racking my brain trying to figure out how I can add subs without taking out the spair plus leaving the cargo are open and I can't.

First, let me say I'm running 2-10's in a bandpass box and it is TOO MUCH bass for the HHR's small boxy interior. (At least for my taste.)

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/6/web/2178000-2178999/2178189_17_full.jpg


I'm going to be experimenting with other options soon.

Secondly, if you want to retain the cargo area, why not try this:

Pull the rear side panels and cut 5/8" MDF panels to fit behind both sides (this will add rigidity to the side panels). Then cut single or dual 8" holes on each side for woofers. Install some Dynamat on the inside of the body panels to kill any vibration, then stuff some polyfill down in the bottom of the cavity to control resonance.

At least with this method, you will retain a) your cargo area, and b) your SPARE - which you will one day be thankful for.

Just sharing ideas - hope it helps,

k a few questions ..agian :) Does the box come if you dont get the upgraded sound system ( i would guess not) Is there enough room on the other side to do it exactly like it is where the factory is. If it is i could fit 2 8's or 10's one one each side and mount the amps next to them. That'd be perfect If I could do that.

The box is only in the premium Pioneer system to my knowledge. I have never pulled off the other side panel so I dont know how much room is behind it but I would imagine a little less seeing as how the fuel fill is on that side. You don't have that much room to play with. See the size of the factory box in relation to the sub. That is exactly how much room you have. The box is shoehorned in there with no room to play with. The box fills every posible inch of the back area, from the wheel well to the window and from the tail lights to the back seat. There isn't much room in there at all! You'll also notice that the box is shaped like the wheel well.

k a few questions ..agian :) Does the box come if you dont get the upgraded sound system ( i would guess not) Is there enough room on the other side to do it exactly like it is where the factory is. If it is i could fit 2 8's or 10's one one each side and mount the amps next to them. That'd be perfect If I could do that.

What Howdy said.

PLUS: Just know that if you want to add 10's in the sides, you WILL lose the ability to move the floor panel into the upper "package shelf" configuration.

2-8" or 1-10 will fit on both sides though...(if mounted to an MDF backing panel.)

What Howdy said.

PLUS: Just know that if you want to add 10's in the sides, you WILL lose the ability to move the floor panel into the upper "package shelf" configuration.

2-8" or 1-10 will fit on both sides though...(if mounted to an MDF backing panel.)

And you use free air subs.

http://www.icixsound.com/vb/showthread.php?t=16563&highlight=700

Take a look at that... there is nothing wrong with small subs... u could do 2 6's on each side in a sealed .7cuft box... then u could get a small amp something cheap, ull only need 500-700rms... and it will have excellent sound quality

http://www.icixsound.com/vb/showthread.php?t=16563&highlight=700

Take a look at that... there is nothing wrong with small subs... u could do 2 6's on each side in a sealed .7cuft box... then u could get a small amp something cheap, ull only need 500-700rms... and it will have excellent sound quality

You can't fit a .7 cubic foot box in there. A .7 cubic foot box is roughly more than three times what you have room for. The factory box is roughly about .2 - .25 cubic feet. Back to the drawing board. There is also something wrong with small subs. The larger the sub the deeper the tone and more power they can handle. Your door speakers are 6 1/2" so your subs wouldn't even be able to produce as much bass as the door speakers. What would the point be? :confused: If you have 500 - 700 watts of power going to the sub or subs it is going to way overpower the rest of the system unless you redo your whole system all the way around.

nah man trust me if that 8 is back there theres rooms.. there is no way that 8 is in a ..25 net box.. theres rooms.. fiberglass it... these get low.. and 700watts as a daily SQ drive is not loud at all... atleast to me loud is over 1000watts easy.. i had 15L7 in 5.75 tuned to 28hz and 2 16kv.2s in 1.66net per drive a 900 watts.. 4 eu700 at 600rms is more then enough

Trust me I took the box out and replaced the sub. It is roughly about 12" by 16" by about 3 1/2" deep. Of course It's weird shaped and not entirely a box because it has holes molded into it for the bolts so I'm using rough figures. There is no depth to it. The factory sub is really narrow and I had to put a 5/8" spacer ring in just so I could get my sub to fit in the box. Your right, I'm undershooting a little due to the odd shape but if you calculate my rough dimentions you will come up with .3889 cubic feet. There is no way in hell you are going to fit a .7 cubic foot box in there.

Trust me I took the box out and replaced the sub. It is roughly about 12" by 16" by about 3 1/2" deep. Of course It's weird shaped and not entirely a box because it has holes molded into it for the bolts so I'm using rough figures. There is no depth to it. The factory sub is really narrow and I had to put a 5/8" spacer ring in just so I could get my sub to fit in the box. Your right, I'm undershooting a little due to the odd shape but if you calculate my rough dimentions you will come up with .3889 cubic feet. There is no way in hell you are going to fit a .7 cubic foot box in there.


I've heard if you put your key in the ACC position and put your window up and down three times you can...

-wC

Rotflmao! :thumb: :beer:

and Magic Beans help as well!

-wC

ok well then when i take mine out.. ill fill it with water n well see what it comes out to0.. but i know for sure u can put 2 eu700s on each side in a fiberglassed box... box dosnt have to be a cube all u need is airspace

I know it doesn't need to be a box. I said that meaning it's hard to get exact dimensions. If you took the amp out of that area and moved it to the spare tire area and built a custom fiberglass one wher the factory one used to be you could probably pull it off. But not using the factory box and without relocating the amp.

ok well then when i take mine out.. ill fill it with water n well see what it comes out to0.. but i know for sure u can put 2 eu700s on each side in a fiberglassed box... box dosnt have to be a cube all u need is airspace


Why would you want eu700's?

Say no to eD....;)

I just want one 8" on each side. If I can't I'll just put one on each side. I'm gonna take it apart this weekend so I can see what's behind the panel on the right side.

If anyone can think of a way to mount a sub or two in the spare tire compartment (keeping it or not keeping it) say something. I can think of many things, but I can't think of a way to keep that huge piece of plastic that sits ontop of the cover of the spare tire. I could hide it under that but itd rattle like crazy

It was soo much easier when I had a trunk :/

I was thinking remove the spare and the plastic cover over the spare but leave the shelf. Maybe build the bottom section fiberglass and the top mdf. Hopefully it can be built with enough airspace but sit down low enough so the shelf can still sit in the floor position. I'm going to take tome measurements and see what I can do. The only set back is that I have never done fiberglass and I dont wanna muff anything up on my interior. I'm thinking I need to figure out what I wanna do before I lower it. Anybody know if the fiberglass is something a rookie can do or am I better off trying to think of a total mdf enclosure?

What about using a tube, like Bazooka. It could fit right behind the back seat, over the 2 little compartments and still allow access to the big one. They come either powered or not. If you get the unpowered one, you could stick the amp where the old sub went (and it would be vented from the factory holes in the panal).

In my many years of car audio, I have always been disappointed with free air subs. Likewise, although I have worked as a carpenter and built beautiful boxes according to all the proper specs and sealing methods, they never sounded as tight as the prebuilt ones. So in my last car, a bought a box then built it in to my car.

What about using a tube, like Bazooka. It could fit right behind the back seat, over the 2 little compartments and still allow access to the big one. They come either powered or not. If you get the unpowered one, you could stick the amp where the old sub went (and it would be vented from the factory holes in the panal).

In my many years of car audio, I have always been disappointed with free air subs. Likewise, although I have worked as a carpenter and built beautiful boxes according to all the proper specs and sealing methods, they never sounded as tight as the prebuilt ones. So in my last car, a bought a box then built it in to my car.

It's hard to find a woofer that is a good candidate for an IB application.

When the right woofers are used, free-air systems can work great.

A lot of SQ Competitors use IB systems.

Just hard to find a good woofer for em...;)

I suck at how-tos so here is a very basic description of how to get the factory box out. First you will need a couple of tools. A small flathead screw driver, a 10mm deep socket, socket wrench, socket extender. I use my hands but you can use a trim removal tool if you want. The first thing you need to do is take off the spare tray and spare cover:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/Picture209.jpg (http://photobucket.com)
Next you will see three 10mm bolts holding in the two little bins:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/Picture210.jpg (http://photobucket.com)
Remove them and pull up on the bin it will pop out:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/Picture211.jpg (http://photobucket.com)
Next pop off the top panel:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/Picture214.jpg (http://photobucket.com)
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/Picture216.jpg (http://photobucket.com)

uh huh and then?

-wC

And the bottom panel:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/Picture213.jpg (http://photobucket.com)
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/Picture215.jpg (http://photobucket.com)
from there you will need to un secure the side panels. Pull the two little pins out of the side panels:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/Picture212.jpg (http://photobucket.com)
They are two part push pins. Take a small flathead and pull out the center pin:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/Picture218.jpg (http://photobucket.com)
Next take out the rubber gromet out the seat latch:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/Picture219.jpg (http://photobucket.com)
Now take off the three cargo tie downs. They are held on by one 10mm bolt each:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/Picture217.jpg (http://photobucket.com)

After that you are free to pull out the side panels. I didn't completely remove them because it's not necessary to get to the box. Anyways start at the top and be careful when you get to where they meet. They are held together by plastic tabs:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/Picture220.jpg (http://photobucket.com)
Be carefull when you remove the bottom panel because the other part of these pins will pop out:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/Picture212.jpg (http://photobucket.com)
Grab them before the get lost. Once you have the panels out you will see a metal brace over the box held on by 4 10mm bolts. Remove it:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/Picture221.jpg (http://photobucket.com)
After that you are free to get to the box. It is held in by four 10mm bolts. This in where the socket extender will come into play. Three of the bolts are in the deep holes that go through the box and there is one below the amp:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/Picture190.jpg (http://photobucket.com)
Once those are out undo the wire harness. There are three plugs on the amp and one at the top of the box going to the sub. If you are thinking of cheating at this point and thinking about removing the eight screws holding in the sub and swaping it without pulling the box, don't even try. The factory subwoofer is actualy bolted into the backside of the box:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/Picture203.jpg (http://photobucket.com)
You will have to unbolt it from the back in order to remove it. It also leaves a nice little hole to fill in. Also another word of advice is that you are probably going to have to put in a space ring and aftermarket grille like me if you put in an aftermarket sub:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/Picture231.jpg (http://photobucket.com)
You will also find the only place in the whole system where it tells you how many ohms it is:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/Picture228.jpg (http://photobucket.com)

Also don't worry about those white marks on my sub. They aren't cuts nor where they perminent. They came right out. Any questions feel free to ask. :beer:

All of the stock 'premium' speakers must be 2 ohm, since the 4 in the passanger compartment are too. I lost some volume when I replaced them, but gained bass and overall sound quality.

What a pain to get to the sub and amp. I am not looking forward to it. Much different than the other speakers, ease wise.

When I tested the lines they all came out 2 ohms but as you know there is no marking on any of the other speakers. You are not going to make it any louder unless you add more power but as you noticed swapping the speakers makes the stereo sound a lot better. When I swapped out the fronts and tweeters it did make the system seem louder but I'm sure thats mostly because because of it sounding clearer and producing better tones.

How can they call it 'Pioneer'. It is an insult to their good name and reputation!

Its Pioneer ruining their own reputation. The speakers where no better than any other factory paper cone speakers I have ever seen.

Well I pulled my spare and added a 12.I just cut the downfire box I built for my van in half so it fits.Its by no means the prettiest thing but I gotta have bump in my trunk and keep the storage.I still plan on building something more permanent but atleast now I won't be so antsy whil I save money.

################################################## ######
Lee 3333 wrote:

What about using a tube, like Bazooka. It could fit right behind the back seat, over the 2 little compartments and still allow access to the big one. They come either powered or not. If you get the unpowered one, you could stick the amp where the old sub went (and it would be vented from the factory holes in the panal).

In my many years of car audio, I have always been disappointed with free air subs. Likewise, although I have worked as a carpenter and built beautiful boxes according to all the proper specs and sealing methods, they never sounded as tight as the prebuilt ones. So in my last car, a bought a box then built it in to my car.
################################################## ######

Good call Lee on mounting the amp in the factory sub location! I think I will do that. I am going to use my truck box (Q-Logic) It has the right Q for my 10" sub, and it will not take up hardly any space. I am still trying to "trailer park engineer" a way to keep the box in place in the back. It stands upright, and is maybe 6-8" at its deepest. It sounded great in my extended cab pickup. I imagine that it will be the same in my HHR.

By the way captainhowdy...:yourock:

Great Pictures!

So let me get this straight capt'n, you just bent the panels out of the way? Its been a minute since I looked closely enough, but I do believe at least one of them gets bolted on via the seat belt, so the panels (lower one for sure) cannot be removed completely.

http://s244.photobucket.com/albums/gg34/hugheshhr/HHR/ I have my subs and amp installed in the storage tray area above the spare. 2 12's, amp and processor all mounted with minimum loss of room. I believe I only lost around 2 inches of room. It's all covered with a vinyl trim panel and a carpeted grill panel to hide it all.

So let me get this straight capt'n, you just bent the panels out of the way? Its been a minute since I looked closely enough, but I do believe at least one of them gets bolted on via the seat belt, so the panels (lower one for sure) cannot be removed completely.

Both the upper and lower panels have the seatbelt bolted thru them. It is easy to remove the upper TORX bolt for the seatbelt but the lower one requires the removal of the rear seat as well so that is why the lower panel is seen pushed over (bent out) away from the sub box.

When I build my fiberglass box next month I will be removing the lower panel completely and the back seat so I can have full access to that area. I will be massaging 3 8's behind the panel and hopefully will still be able to include my amp in with them. If not, then the amp will go in the spare tire cover well.