I know others have done the same or similar rebuilds of their stock subwoofer enclosure. I ran into a few details not covered in previous builds I wish I had known. I wanted to retain the stock everything else so I went this route.

I chose the Earthquake/SWS subs: They are very shallow and I thought the sensitivity would work well with the stock amp and they are 4 Ohm so no additional load.

After removing the plastic trim ring from the speaker, they are a direct drop in size and the screw holes line right up. Keep in mind, the wire receptacles on the speaker are across from each other instead of side by side like on the stock speakers. My suggestion would be to retain the negative terminal closest to the factory connector because the tiny socket slides nicely onto the speaker terminal and will reach. The positive terminal will have to be extended to reach but simple spade terminals work fine, or you could splice an extension if you wanted.

Issues I ran into were not deal breakers, but may be more than expected for a claimed "drop in" installation as claimed in past posts. Although the speakers are very shallow, the basket is much wider at the opening which requires some crude methods to widen the opening. The factory vinyl and pressed cardboard will have to be trimmed at both upper corners. The upper right side will require a few calculated whacks of a hammer to widen the lip so it doesn't rub. Also, the positive terminal on the outside must be bent inward to sit inside the hole or it will rub. This requires the lead to be longer than you might think. Routing the wire along the perimeter of the basket will keep it down and out of the way and won't vibrate. The glue that holds the factory speaker in place is not strong and there is no need to heat it. A slow pry at the strong corners with a trim tool working around the edges eventually pulled it away; it pulls away slowly, there wasn't a pop or singe break free (unless you use the rubber mallet method some others had tried) I also ran a bead of silicone around the speaker opening so it would seat along any of the residual glue. Don't over tighten the speaker screws, it can twist the rubber surround.

Vibration issues were also more of an issue than expected. I added Dynamat type material to the inside of the door which should help but what helped most was covering the plastic cover including the screw receptacles. It virtually eliminated the rattle of the actual enclosure (see pics below) Also, I purchased a silicone license plate cover for the license plate and the bracket which took care of that as well.

Sound and conclusion: My speakers were still perfectly fine so my replacement was purely upgrade vs need. The speakers are more efficient and do produce more lower frequency sound than the stock speakers. They are only 6.5" subs so don't expect miracles. You would need a new amp and more room for that type of sound. I wouldn't do the upgrade if your speakers are still in fine shape. Although you do get some additional bass output it isn't enough in my opinion to remove the stock subs if they are still in perfect condition. If your speakers have come out of their surrounds and are in need of replacement I would definitely recommend the upgrade. You would likely get just as much sound out of the slightly cheaper Pile or other subs some have used but I like the durability of the Earthquake/SWS subs I chose.

 

Thanks for the write-up! I'd be curious to hear how the amp holds up, as I've been told the stock sub-woofers (Philips 9022-754-77151) are only 2 ohm. Some people say you should wire the new 4 ohm subs in parallel to drop the ohms, but I haven't a clue. Please give us an update in 2-3 months. Thanks!

 

Running the amp at 4 ohm should actually be less demanding on the amp.

 

With 4Ohms you get a quarter power output only. These have 2Ohms, but I don't know if they fit from depth: W6-2090 - 6.5" High heat resistant driver - TB SPEAKER CO., LTD.

 

I'm not sure of the difference in sensitivity between the stock and earthquake subs, but despite the difference in ohms, I am getting better overall and lower bass from the new setup. However, as I said above, I wouldn't do it again because the difference isn't worth the cost unless you need to replace blown or dry rot speakers anyway.

I speculate finding 2 ohm versions that fit would be the best overall solution because the power output would remain the same but the better speaker would produce more of what it's sent. Whatever new speakers are chose, be prepared to use a healthy amount of sound deadening material because the additional low frequency output is where the rattles start.

 

I always like to see honest reviews like this. I just ordered some cheapo ones from amazon and will install shortly. Despite my OEM subs being totally wasted, I think the stereo still sounds not too bad, so even a little improvement wouldn’t bother me.

And thanks for the reminder on the sound deadening. I did an exercise of sound deadening and insulation in my Jeep a couple years ago and the difference is night and day. I’ve not decided if I’ll go to that effort yet on this Disco or not.