2020 Tundra TRD Pro JBL Sub Upgrade - SOLVED!!!

Hi Guys,

Brand new member, and brand new Tundra owner here! As others have stated, the "premium" JBL audio system is absolute junk. I'm reaching out in hopes of advice for an upgrade.

My only goal here is to add some decent bass. I'm find with the rest of the speakers, but can't get over the lack of bass, especially with an 8" sub included.

Here are my questions:
1. If I simply upgrade the sub itself will that render any noticeable difference? Not looking to shake the mirrors off my truck or anything.
2. I've read a lot about the ********* gear. If upgrading the sub alone won't at least double the current bass, would you guys recommend replacing the factory amp with the 5-channel ********* amp, or can I get away with only adding the 1000w sub amp? I'm really trying to take the path of least resistance, so running additional power, ground and remote cables is something I'm trying to avoid.
3. If I upgrade the amp, will that make a significant difference with the factory JBL sub?


Thanks a ton for your input guys, and I look forward to your responses!

 

Official welcome.

 

Thanks Seth!

 

Welcome. If your going to up grade do the whole thing while you are in there.
Plenty of DIY info here...

https://www.tundras.com/forums/audio-video.30/

 

Thanks @Tundra14Platinum. I just contacted Tech12Volts. Looks like they have a sub replacement that "doubles" the bass without messing with the amp or anything. If that's the case I'll be thrilled with the quick-fix option!

Ultimately you are right about replacing the entire system. For my needs if I can just get a decent amount more bass without going through major surgery I'll be happy. Really appreciate your help!

 

I sound deadened the back wall and floor and stuck an Alpine 8” sub (with 1” trim ring) in the factory housing.
Made a substantial difference for about $150.

 

Dude that's what I'm looking for! A cheap fix that doesn't involve a ton re-wiring and messing with the amp. Thanks a ton for sharing!

 

Ok so I went a totally different direction (still looking out for my budget though) than planned. And I LOVE it and wanted to share.

But first a few fails:

1. Order a 8" Kicker CompC sub from Amazon - magnet was too deep for the 2.5" factory housing.

2. Picked up a Kicker 10" CompC pre-installed in a shallow sub box - still too deep. Now I'm pissed.

More research, more research, etc. Do I buy a sub and install in the crappy plastic factory enclosure? Do I make my own box? On and on and on.

Let me make this real simple for anyone wanting more than decent bass for under $450. Here's what worked wonders for me

HARDWARE:
1.

$280 Rockford Fosgate P300-8P Punch 8" 300-Watt Amplified Subwoofer in Ported Enclosure - Slim Design for Tight Spaces - Black

Rockford Fosgate P300-8P. This is a 8" sub, amp and enclosure combo. 300w amp with a wired remote bass knob controller. I bought this and an amplifier wiring kit for $302.

2. AudioControl LC2i. $100 at Best Buy

INSTALL:

Cut nipple off from the main wiring grommet at the upper right corner of the firewall.

Push power cable from inside the truck through the nipple using a coat hanger and some tape. Once you see it coming out from under the hood get some pliers and pull the rest through.

Terminate to positive on the battery leaving the fuse OUT of the inline breaker. Run the cable under the plastic cover in the floor to the back.

Remove seats (small seat can stay). Remove plastic sub box and unclip the speaker harness.

Install the AudioControl LC2i behind seat. Install sub behind rear seat. Both the sub and the LC2i can be grounded on the floor where the old speaker box was screwed in. I also pushed the sub back as far as I could over the factory insulation sheet. And I literally just laid the LC2i device on top of the sub.

At this point put the fuse in the breaker at the battery and everything should turn on. It's that easy. I did this in about an hour and a half after work today and I'm no professional.

You will have to adjust some of the dials on the amp and the LC2I converter to get everything dialed in after install. Once complete simply reinstall the seat and you're done.

As for performance...wow....this little sub hits!!! I can't believe how hard this thing hits. Pushes a ton of air out of the ported box. This thing exceeded my expectations in all categories. I have not upgraded anything else from an audio standpoint. Factory head unit, factory amp and factory speakers. But I feel like I went from worst to first in under 2 hours today. Trust me this thing thumps!

I did a ton of research, watched videos read articles, called local audio stores, etc. Nowhere in my research did anyone mention installing an under the seat style amp and sub combo with the converter. There were lots of other practical suggestions that certainly would have worked. However, I wanted to get this done for $400 AND get away from the factory JBL amp. This fit the bill, was an easy Install and added more bass than I need! Thought I'd share this in case you're in the same situation. Message me if you need more info!

Sorry for typos - sending from cell

 

No pictures????

You just plugged the sub wires into the LC2i?

 

That’s what I would have looked into if I did not want the whole system replaced. I have one of them in my 19 Z06 what a big difference with my Bose system without changing all the speakers. It probably fits no problem.

 

So what does the LC2i do for you? Is the sub the only thing that you plugged into the LC2i?

 

Just installed a

$170 Rockford Fosgate P3SD2-8 8" Dual 2-Ohm Punch Series Shallow Mount Car Subwoofer

Rockford Fosgate P3SD2-8 in place of the stock cone inside the stock box yesterday. HUGE improvement. Least intrusive.

 

I'm curious if anyone has tried fitting a 6" Bazooka tube behind the rear seats. I know its really tight back there but I think it might fit and I also think the stock JBL amp can push it with no problem

 

Bazooka tubes used to come with their amp inside, no need to add. Unless they changed their design. Still don't know if it will fit.

 

Some come with the amp others don't. They also have single or dual voice coil designs.

 

I also went with @james@tech12volts. Used his plug and play harness to add sub and amp. Kept the head unit. Two JL 10's and 500w amp.
PS- plug and play means I did not cut any factory wires, but did have to power the new amp. Have had a few people confused in the past about that.

 

‘16 truck? DC or CM?

 

DC

 

Very happy I came across this thread. I also installed the

$280 p300 8p punch 8" 300-watt amplified subwoofer in ported enclosure - slim design for tight spaces - black

p300 8p on my 2021 Platinum.

Crazy improvement and no too expensive.

 

Did you tap the LC2i into the factory sub wiring at the box?

 

This solution was exactly what I wanted, a major upgrade that is minimally invasive, not too expensive and that I could do myself. I did not want to swap the head unit or speakers, just upgrade the sub and amp. Thank you OP. My truck now THUMPS and I love it! Turns out I've also got a massage chair in the back of my truck. BTW, if anyone out there blew their OEM sub and needs a replacement I have a complete box unit in excellent condition available. PM me. You can have it for $20 plus shipping.

This is my first post and I will do a more lengthy intro later but wanted to take this thread a step further and help anyone else out that may be looking for this. I have a 2020 Limited Premium Crewmax 4x4.

My original plan was to sound deaden the back before installing the box so I pulled both back seats. Turns out there was already plenty of insulation on the back wall and in the floor so I skipped it. Not sure if the insulation is on all 2020 models or if that is part of a trim package but my OEM insulation is great and keeps the sound well contained inside the cab.

General tips, tricks and notes:

• OP said he did this in 1 1/2 hours. If you planned it perfectly that might be possible but it took me closer to 3 hours and another hour to dial in the audio settings. The large bench seat is heavy. I did it solo but I highly recommend having a helper. A helper would have made the wiring go much quicker as well.
• I used the AudioControl LC2i Pro which was $150 with tax at my local Best Buy. The LC2i (standard not pro) is currently $90 on Amazon. It looks to me like the standard unit has all of the same inputs/outputs and features needed but I'm not 100% on the differences between those units. The LC2i takes the high power amped up inputs and converts them to low power outputs required by the new amp/sub combo. Also, it does require constant 12v power (only 200mA so not much) but you do need to power it along with the P300. I bought a Boss Audio 8 gauge wiring kit on Amazon for $25 and it had more than everything I needed. I used the included 18 gauge wire to power the LC2i. Could have used the included speaker wire instead. Speaker wire didn't list gauge but it looked like 16 to me so I used it for the remote start connect from the LC2i to the sub and to ground the LC2i.
• When you wire it, cutting the nipple off the main wiring grommet in the firewall was perfect because it is separate from the rest of the wiring bundle but the 8 gauge wire was a tight fit through there. I didn't need a coat hanger, just forced it through with my fingers (taped the second wire to power the LC2i to the 8 gauge to pass them both through) but I did use a little (non petroleum) lube on the wire to get it to slide through the rubber grommet. I mounted the fuse to the top battery bracket with a couple of wire ties. I'm not completely happy with the fuse mount and will probably switch that up at some point. I considered screwing it to the breaker box adjacent to the battery but I didn't want to drill more holes.
• For the LC2i inputs you need to snip off the wire adaptor for the OEM box and connect the blue and white wires into the LC2i. There wasn't any extra length available in those wires so I had to lay the LC2i on the floor nearest the door and next to the sub. The sub came with adhesive velcro tape which I used to attached the LC2i to the floor. The sub box is a snug fit behind the seat and didn't require anything to keep it in place. When you reinstall the bench seat be sure that you position the box in the proper spot because when you raise/lower the seat it will hit the box if you don't position it just right. It will fit tho.
• As OP said, you will need to play around with settings. Be sure that you test it out and tweak it before you reinstall the back seat because you can't easily get at it once the seat is in place.
• There are two wired remotes, a gain control and crossover control. You will want these where you can reach them, not tucked behind the back seat. I ran these along with the power wires up to the driver's seat then underneath the driver's seat. There is a seam in the carpet and it was easy to tuck them in and keep them hidden. I have the control knobs sitting on the console near the shifter. I plan to mount them both where I can easily reach them.
• The manual suggested tuning the sub to the loudest you will want with the crossover and gain turned all the way up. Then you use the remotes to dial back. This is what I did and it worked well for me.

Note that in the photo, that is not the final position of the box. It actually sits a few inches to the right almost flush against the LC2i. You can see the insulation on the back wall and in the floor where the carpet is cut out for the seat brackets. You can also see the two remotes that I ended up running up to the drivers seat. Hope this helps someone.

 

Is this a direct fit?

 

Yes, the

$280 Rockford Fosgate P300-8P Punch 8" 300-Watt Amplified Subwoofer in Ported Enclosure - Slim Design for Tight Spaces - Black

Rockford Fosgate P300-8P box fits in the space where the stock JBL sub is located once that is removed.

 

MollyW I have a 2020 pro with the junk JBL . Interested in what you did. Did you end up changing out the speakers as well?
Would like to chat with you .
Let me know if you are open to that .
Thank You
John in Denver