I finally got my AVIC-Z2 in that I ordered for Christmas this weekend. However, my car has no bass coming from it anymore. I thought maybe the subwoofer was not plugged up the the Z2 so I checked to see if any sound was coming from it, and it was. Still, no bass is noticible, atleast not to the extent that it was with the Shaker500. Could the sub be the problem, or is most likely a connection issue. For those with non-factory subs, got any suggestions?

 

I could assume that it's possible that the Z2 and the factory amp aren't communicating with one another.... Generaly when you do an aftermarket radio with the factory upgraded radio, you have to get a special wiring harness because of the factory amps. I didn't get the shaker system being that I was going to upgrade the system anyway. I do know that when I upgraded the radio in my 5.0 with the factory amps, I had to get a very expensive harness so that the factory amps will still work. Hope that helps

 

Oh, and you might want to make sure that the settings for the subwoofer on the radio are set correctly. When I got my Pioneer, the subwoofer was off and when I turned it on, I had to turn up the gain for the subwoofer too. I have the Pioneer DEH-P880 and I love it... clean, very clean radio. The only complaint I guess is when the bass hits really hard, the cd player will skip. I've tighten and secured everything that I could to make sure that it's not moving inside the console, but what do you do.

Did you make sure that the EQ is set for the Fq that the sub plays in? Make sure that the crossover is set right too.

 

Well, I got the harness by Crutchfield designed for the Mustang w/ Shaker 500. I may take it by Best Buy to have them look at it. I still think I am going to get some aftermarket subs. Could it be a problem with the amps? I am seriously considering getting this unit... has anyone had any experience with it? http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Produ...c=3&tp=113

 

I'm sure that it will be fine, are you going to put a different amp to it? I would def. go with an aftermarket amp. I went custom all the way. I made my own box and ported it to 43 Hz. The sub that I have is an Alphasonic Mayhem 12". This box "barely" fit the trunk and takes up 50% of my space, but I got that DEEP eye rattling bass too. I think that set up you are looking at will be fine as long as you don't depend on the factory wiring and amp to push it.... for amperage drawing reasons. I don't think that the factory wiring is big enough to support what that sub is going to want.

 

How difficult is installing an amp and the wiring? I put in the Z2, but could not have done it without the loads of help from my friends.

 

Whenever you add aftermarket head units, kiss factory souns goodbye. Look at mtx stealth box for the 05-current mustangs. They make a loaded, amplified sub for our cars. I'm thinking about it, when I change head units

 

what about speakers. you think they will need a change?

 

As far as why your factory subs are not working, I would say that you either have the wrong harness or forgot to hook up a wire some where. Track down the wires going to the factory amp and check for ground and 2 power wires while the radio is on . If you dont have those then you have a problem. Also check your fuses as the factory amp turn on wire is fused and the pioneer is putting out way more amperage than the factory amp needs to turn on.

As for the sub box, I would stay away from the one you picked as the sub is of poor quality and will sound like crap after in has had time to break in. There are lots of other companies that make good alternatives, like some one else mentioned MTX.

 

If there's some sound coming from the subs, but it's just not loud, then you probably have the harness connected properly. So then I'd look at the controls on the AVIC - it should have cutoff frequency, phase, +6 to -6 level. You're not going to get bass like you would from an aftermarket amp and sub, but it should be at least as loud as it was when the Shaker was in there, since you're still using the same amp.