By non-traditional I meant more the speaker design. It has those small sideways pushing woofers pushing towards the passenger and the driver door instead of 8" round woofer pushing up into the bottom of your seat like found in the Alpine or rockford fosgates.

Now dont get me wrong I'm not expecting window shattering bass...but I want to feel the bass where there should be bass during a song...currently the factory speakers are lacking for sure.

 

Oh, the "HVT," there's really no way for me to tell if it's any "better" than a traditional design... maybe it produces higher decibels using lower power, maybe it reduces vibration, maybe it's what allowed the subwoofer to be this compact, maybe it's just a gimmick.

I strongly feel that to the trained ear, this subwoofer sounds the same as a "traditional" subwoofer. It sure feels like the bass is being directed through the seat and into my butt, but maybe that's just because I have it cranked so high all the time. My girlfriend says she can feel the vibrations in her seat, too. Logic tells me that it's better for the sound to be emitted horizontally rather than being muted going through a seat, but YMMV.

The first thing I noticed when I tried the stock audio system was the lack of bass, it wasn't significant, but it was there. The stock audio is really really good. I'm pretty sure it was enough to rattle my mirror as well. My EQ is +4 bass and +6 treble I think and it definitely sounds like the bass is coming from underneath rather than through the doors like it used to.

It's less than $200 and it makes driving any distance 10x more pleasurable, for me at least. If I haven't sold you on it yet then you might want to get the Alpine! I just needed to know 100% that whatever underseat subwoofer I got would fit, and this fits AND sounds great.

 

Hi Shinjari,

Have you bought the under seat sub yet? if yes, which one you end up buying?
I hope it's the Alpine just so I can confirm the Alpine fits under the stock seat

Anyway,
over the past few days, I had been concentrating on doing research for my upcoming audio system upgrade,
here are copy and paste of my personal summary note of what I think a good candidate and good specs for under seat sub-woofer:

Alpine PWE-S8 Dimension: 340 mm (13-7/16”) x 70 mm (2-13/16”) x 230 mm (9-1/16”) 3-inches deep (at deepest point) enclosure is made from Cast Metal, 120Watt RMS Frequency Response: 25Hz – 152Hz
Alpine is first choice among all powered under seat sub if it fit becausethe cabinet from Cast Metal and lower Frequency Response than JBL BassPro SL

plus almost 2 times the RMS wattage compare to the Pioneer
TS-WH500A .

or JBL BassPro SL
Dimensions (L x W x H): 13-9/16" x 9-7/8" x 2-13/16" (344mm x 250mm x 71mm) but enclosure is made from ABS Plastic, 125Watt RMS, Frequency Response: 35Hz – 120Hz
or Kenwood KSC-SW11 Dimension (W) 11" x (H)2-3/4"( 69.85mm) x (D)7-1/2"

or if space under seat is still not enough then:
For Pioneer brand,

First choice would be Pioneer TS-WH500A because it have 300grams x 2 Strontium Magnet,
it also goes lower in Frequency Response compare to the other Pioneer under seat sub TS-WX120A.
Pioneer TS-WH500A Enclosure size: (WxDxH): 340mm x 250mm x 60mm
enclosure is made of High-Density Compound Resin
70Watt RMS, Frequency Response: 20 – 200Hz

Second Choice for Pioneer Brand:

Pioneer TS-WX120A because it is taller and only single 484grams Strontium Magnet, Frequency Response is not as low as the above Pioneer.
Pioneer TS-WX120A Enclosure size: (WxDxH): 280mm 11"x 200mm 7-7/8" x 70mm 2-3/4", enclosure is made of High-Density Compound Resin
70Watt RMS, Frequency Response: 30 – 160Hz

 

Yeah I haven't had the time or funds to pursue this project more. I wish I could find one locally to try. Would hate to order online then have to return. My concern is the height. there isn't much space under the seat to begin with. I want it to tuck enough so the rear passenger is still comfy and isn't kicking the $#!T out of the sub.

Also your reasoning is the same as mine. I want the alpine due to the better freq response.

 

good information 👍🏽

 

Simply genius and can come in very handy. As said above there are a few tweaks that could be made to make it work better but all-in-all brilliant

 

Nightscreams...I just ordered one today through Amazon. Any reason you installed the Pioneer in that direction? From your photos...it looks like you installed with the length side facing between the plastic supports of the seat. Can it also have fit length wise under the seat so it's hidden a little better or is this not possible in trying to keep the seat still movable?

 

Also...have you had any problems with the airbag lights coming on because of the bass produced?

 

They get cheaper as you scroll through
Pioneer TS-WH500A 150 W HVT 8 1/4" Sealed Active Subwoofer 884938274234 | eBay

 

I got mine for $165.85 on Amazon.

 

I believe the way he has it mounted is the least invasive way to install. Its roughly 13.5" x 10".

Also the area under the front seats is not as flat and deep as you'd expect. Plus there is a floor vent there for the passengers feet. So unless you intend to remove the floor vent, you can really only mount this sub in that orientation.

Let us know what you think when you get it. Coming from a pretty hefty 12" sub...I find it hard to believe a 8.25" will be sufficient for me...maybe I need (2)? Lol.

I'm actually considering these https://www.crutchfield.com/p_206CWR....html?tp=70205 for my rear doors. Get (2), a mono amp and boom (pun intended). They should be shallow enough for the door. I will verify sometime...

 

Just ordered one for Foxy.

 

Really looking into getting the pioneer; how would you go about installing it?
@minminmusic @overslept

 

bump. just bought, don't know how to install :|

 

I just completed the install of a Kicker HS8 Powered Subwoofer in hatch area of my 2018 Fit EX. The unit was priced at $184 at Amazon.
I liked the supplied Velcro mounting straps that provide a quick way to remove the unit, if I ever needed to. Really, though, I doubt that will be often.
The low profile unit fits pretty well again the driver's side wall up against the hatch back seat. I found the driver's side had a larger flat mounting area and using the center and front strap dents on the unit keeps it quite tight and stable.
The installation took about 4 hours and I removed the front seats to ease the installation - might not be necessary for those of you more skilled than I.
I removed the center pillar trim and tapped into the read door speaker wires in the main wire loom - they are the pink and blue twisted pair.
I ran the power wire up the drivers side kick panels and out to the battery through the main rubber firewall boot near the steering wheel boot.
I mounted the remote bass control unit inside the center console.
This unit lives up to its name. It's just what I needed to enhance the factory speaker enough for me to be happy without investing a lot of money. Love it.
Driver's side hatch mount
Center console mount of bass control

 

Thought I would update since my last post, I recently considered this one as a potential upgrade over the Pioneer but started experimenting with Clark Synthesis Tactile Transducers. These are more commonly popular with home theater enthusiasts but found they are very musical in a car and since these are basically bone induction for bass, they sound much deeper than the under seat sub and can feel 20 x's the bass. When not sitting on the drivers seat which it's attached to, you can't hear anything. Seems to be a worthy SPL alternative and would likely serve better to augment a small sub like that Kicker hideaway.

I took out the Pioneer and ordered a Rockville 10" under seat sub instead of the Kicker because it's only $120 and is CEA certified for 200 watts RMS which I think it's the only under seat sub to be CEA certified and plus I just felt like experimenting with something new. If nothing else I may put it in the trunk and with the Transducer attached to my seat should augment it much better. I would keep the Pioneer but with only 50 watts, it could use more power though it's not bad for what it is, I may find a use for it somewhere else eventually.

 

Did you ever get the Rockville installed? How does it compare to the Pioneer? How is fitment? Looking at these two options for my GD3.