The new sub is in. What a beast! There is no way for one person to put this into the trunk as it weighs in at over 100 lbs and just barely makes it through the trunk opening.
This is a 13W7AE in a ProWedge sealed enclosure. It's hard to say if the upper trunk liner will fit with the sub in place or not. I'll need to try and put it back in to see if it still fits one of these days.
Here are some quick shots showing the clearances:






That's all for now, more updates as I break her in and play with the amp settings.

 

After a week of running the sub with the amp gain all the way down, I can honestly say that there is simply no need to even bother turning it up any. The sub simply overpowers the stock Bose system.
One thing I love about the slash series amps is the parametric EQ. It took a bit of tuning to get the sub to properly blend in with the rest of the system.
I finally turned up the volume to a level that it would only see when DEMOing (for a lack of a better term) the system. Being that prior to this, I always ran the amp at half the input with the gain down and kept it under 600 watts for the 12W6, I ran a 50A fuse with no issues. I popped in the 80A (largest one I had) when I installed the W7 for its break in period.
So tonight, it took about 30 seconds of a healthy bumping for the 80A fuse to pop. The amp calls for a 100A fuse, and since I am now running it at its full potential I think it finally deserves one. Although I think I'd much rather install a 100A breaker instead of a fuse.
At this volume, I saw a major voltage drop across the electrical system. The car was in park with all accessories turned off. My foot was on the gas with rpms at about 1500-2000 and the tach needle backlight was almost turning completely off during bass peaks. The track I was playing was Subsonic by Bass Mekanik. The amp apparently drew more than 80 amps even before the first major frequency sweep at 1:05, and the fuse did its job immediately.
Needless to say, the big 3 is my next step. I'm still deciding on a battery, and I'm also looking into high output alternator options.
As far as rattles are concerned, the solution is very simple. With Dynamat in place, and having the trunk lid lip lined with 2 layers of felt, it takes keeping the volume at below 2/3 of the way up for the body panels to stay rattle free. Anything above 2/3 of the way up and a bit of boost, and the trunk simply flexes at the bottom center and releases pressure. While it isn't too audible inside the car (especially when moving), it flat out sounds embarrassing while sitting at a light etc. with people around.
More updates as they happen. I'll try to have some videos by this weekend.

 

I did the big 3 over the weekend, and figured I'd take some pics along the way.

I ordered 0 gauge wire to replace/add to the factory wiring. I also decided to step up the speaker wire size from the amp to the sub to 8 gauge. When I took it out of the box I thought holy smokes that thing is huge! Here is the speaker wire next to the 0 gauge power cable.


Mitsubishi? Ok then. Looks like our alternator is rated at 150A.


Here's a shot of the original alternator cable next to the 0 gauge one I replaced it with. It couldn't be larger than 4 gauge, and the ground cable from the battery was even smaller!


Alternator cable with the factory boot ready to go in.


This is the engine ground. It's routed through the fender and under the passenger side airbox.


Chassis ground cable soldered, and ready to go in.


Everything is in place and hooked up.


Here you can see the negative battery terminal with two 0 gauge grounds and the factory ground running to it. On the positive side is the 100A circuit breaker feeding the 4 gauge amp power cable.


This is it for now. I'll try to get some videos up this week when it's bright out. Daylight savings isn't on my side though. It will be almost dark by the time I'll be getting home from work from now on.

 

The XS Power D2700 battery is here. Sadly, I won't have time to install it until next week. Videos are coming Thanksgiving day!

 

Well, I ran out of daylight again... but the battery is installed. Let me just say that it's a tight fit as this sucker is 3 inches longer than the factory battery. Video on Saturday or bust!

 

Here's a short video as promised. The volume was set as a compromise between overloading the camera mic and still being able to see stuff flexing. Choose 480p for best results.

YouTube Video

 

One final update is that I now have my gains properly set with my new toy... the SMD DD-1. I may post new videos down the road as I take my time tweaking the amp and finally putting all the trunk panels back on.

 

I just saw this for the first time, and I would like to say very nice work. I didnt know a D2700 would fit in our battery tray. Last week, I dropped in a D5100R under my hood and have a D3400 on its way for a second battery in the trunk. On the battery to alternator wire, how did you get to it to add the 0 guage? Our engine compartments are so cramped and it's so low down, I figure the best way to get to it is from under the car.
Ive got big plans for my build and have everything bought, I just need the motivation to get my *** out there and do it. I've deadened the trunk and that's it. Anyways, nice work. You don't see a whole lot of car audio enthusiasts on here.

 

Thanks for the compliments!
The battery to alternator cable runs along the same path as the factory one did so it looks totally stock. The wire loom needs to be stepped up to 3/4" size. AutoZone has the wire loom for about $10. Getting to the alternator was a bit of a challenge. I got to the nut from the bottom. A long ratcheting wrench does wonders in this case.
The battery fits if you remove the metal bracket that holds an enclosed module on the left side of the battery to the fender. The module rests nice and snug between the fender and the battery once installed. That is the only practical way to fit the D2700 into our battery compartment and not tear up, or rub against the brake lines running on the right side of the battery top. Because the D2700 is not a group 23 battery, the terminals are on the firewall side. The XS Power i-Bar kit did not help in this case. I still have mine I'll probably end up selling. I used 3/4" wide x 1/8" thick high conductivity copper stock to make the extentions to reach the factory positive terminal and the Knukonceptz 0 Gauge negative terminal. The positive buss bar is protected with a large piece of shrink tubing.
Honestly, I don't even consider myself an audio enthusiast. Although I did minor in Audio Engineering back in college, this is just a simple project that I couldn't stop once I started.
I am seriously debating purchasing a JL Audio sub for my home theather setup now that I've had first hand experience with the W7 driver sound characteristics and capabilities.
Be sure to post up your build as you make progress.

 

I want to thank you because your post inspired me to start my build today. Also, it helps that USPS decided to deliver my install accessories today from Knu Konceptz. My battery up front is the D5100R, the R meaning that the polarity on the battery was reversed. So instead of having to reverse the battery like you did, I have my posts facing forward. I looked and I am almost 100% sure this was the ONLY XS Power battery with the posts on the right sides of the battery for our car. I like the way you adapted to this and it looks really nice. I ran a + and - run of 0 guage to the back for my second battery today. I love those channels in the door sill and both runs fit perfectly in there.I took apart my seats and rear deck and right now I am in the process of deadening the deck with CLD tiles(like your dynamat) and closed cell foam. I cant believe how much progress I have made so far, but all it took was a little motivation.'

Here's what I will be running:
XS Power D5100R
XS Power D3400 (back)

(2) Arc Audio FD2200 amps that are 100x2 w rms each going to my front stage on
Hybrid Audio Clarus C61-2 components
Crescendo Audio BC-2200 mono
12" Incriminator Audio Death Penalty

It's time for me to get serious and get this build done, Sorry if I threw your thread off track but if it wasnt for me seeing this I would have never gotten started. I will make a build thread now of my own. Thanks and I will be looking forward to seeing what else you do. It's a sickness, and once you start you cant stop.

 

Awesome!

 

Quick update: The JL Audio ProWedge enclosure is being replaced with the custom box pictured below courtesy of Dave The Box Guy. Check out his work at: davetheboxguy.com.
Also in the works is an led vu meter to be calibrated with the DD-1 so dialing in a maximum safe amount of bass boost would be a breeze.
Pics and video is to follow once everything is tucked in and put back together sometime in the next few weeks.

 

I jut had to snap a pic of the W7 while it was out.
The new box is in. The amp will be facing the opposite direction with all wiring out of sight once I am satisfied with the EQ settings.
You gotta enjoy working on this stuff from time to time as much as listening to it. I mean, this thread is over a year old!