Why am I getting weak bass from my car subwoofer?

Question

I have an 8" Kicker subwoofer and the bass coming out of it seems weak and a bit delayed. The stock sub sounded better. The Kicker is rated at about 200RMS and 100 continuous if that helps.

Answer 1

If you simply took out the stock sub and put in the Kicker the box probably isn't the right size or the amp is too small to push it, or it could be out of phase(positive and negative on the wrong terminals).

Answer 2

maybe you dont have the right amp or kit set up

Answer 3

"The stock sub sounded better."

it you just replaced the stock one with a kicker sub then the problem is the stock amp does not have the wattage (RMS/continuous) to properly power it, if it does not have the necessary RMS wattage you will destroy the damage because it will more than likely be distorted and you will melt/fry the voice coil

"a bit delayed"

that is usually your wiring, it sounds like you need to switch your wires on the sub around

you cannot simply just unhook a sub and replace it with a different model because a lot of factors go into a sub and matching it PROPERLY to an amp

chances are, the old factory sub did not require as much RMS wattage, and probably needed a smaller enclosure-

also it probably had an impedance of 4 or 8ohms, for example-- if a sub needs 100watts RMS @ 4ohms and you send it 100watts RMS @ 2ohms you are only sending it half of the necessary RMS wattage and you WILL damage the sub

Answer 4

When you said, " a bit delayed", that usually indicates a speaker being out of phase. One remedy is to ensure that all of the cables are on the correct (+) or ground. You may also tinker with the cross over.

Answer 5

ok try a higher gauge wire and a more powerfull amp and make sure u read the kicker specs and its in the right sub box

Answer 6

What amp do you have pushing the sub?  Are you sure everything is hooked up correctly?