Reviews for Alpine PWE-S8-WRA 8-inch Compact Powered Subwoofer System for 11-18 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited JK
For reference, my Jeep (4 door 2017 JKU) has the factory radio with the Garmin GPS and satellite radio and is not the Alpine version.
The supplied instructions were pretty clear, apparently having been written from experience installing this. The only problem that I had was that the holes in the supplied brackets did not quite line up with the factory holes on the seat frame: I drilled them out one size larger so I could use a rat-tail (round) file to elongate the holes: One side had them about 1/8" (3-4mm) too close together, the other side was about the same amount too far apart - I used a silver marker to not which was which: I'd also recommend making the mounting brackets "A" and "B" when you identify them from the instructions to avoid confusion. The process of elongating the holes added an extra 10 minutes or so, but it went together smoothly.
I would *strongly* suggest that you keep the four screws used to hold the bracket to the amplifier a bit loose while bolting it to the bottom of the seat, tighten the bolts to the seat frame and *then* tighten those four screws or you may be fighting to get things into alignment. Remember also that the two seat rails slide *INDEPENDENTLY* when you move the seat forward and back so be sure to operate the seat adjustment release while bolting the amplifier+brackets to the seat frame to line things up.
When running the cable/harness between the radio and the amplifier I found a gap inside the dash that seemed made for it: With the factory radio out and looking down to the floor through its cavity, there was a channel that went all the way to the transmission hump on the left side close to the driver's knee and I used a flexible fiberglass rod (the sort used for fishing wires), pushing the rod to the floor (between the transmission hump and the carpet) and then taping the harness to it and pulling it up and routing the top part of the harness around the side of the dashboard's metal frame and behind the radio cavity. The bottom part of the harness can then be tucked up under the center console and be routed to emerge at about the same place as the wires for the seat, out of sight for the entire run.
Where the wires will run under the seat, there's an existing harness for the seat itself and this is a good place to use the zip ties on the harness, keeping it out of the way of everything and assure that nothing will be pinched when bolting the seat back down.
As suggested in the instructions, I placed the remote subwoofer level knob along the side of the center console, just beyond where the transaxle shift would be in 4-low and that seems to be a good place: It's out of the way and easily reached. I'm skeptical that the Velcro's adhesive will withstand the heat of the summer, but if it can't, I'll make a simple bracket to hold it in place. The extra cable length for the remote was bundled/zip-tied to the rest of the wiring harness, being installed *before* the seat was put back in.
The sound is quite good - and since it's under the driver's seat, turning it up too much can be intense - but at this point everything inside and out of the Jeep is likely to buzz and rattle! The default settings for the controls suggested in the instructions are a good starting place, although I prefer to set the cut-off frequency toward the high side as this better fills in the gap between the frequency coverage of the existing speakers (which can't do bass well!) and the subwoofer.
As am Amateur Radio Operator I was worried a bit if the subwoofer would be sensitive to RF on my installed radios: No interference to the subwoofer was noted on 40-6 meter HF/VHF bands with 100 watts and with 50/35 watts on 2 meters and 70cm. Similarly, the electronics within the speaker itself do not seem to produce any hash or birdies that I can detect on any of the same bands, either.
Compared to the "bare" Alpine PWE-S8 subwoofer, the price is a bit steep, but considering that it comes with brackets and Jeep-specific cables/harnesses that you'd have to make or acquire anyway - and the amount of time and hassle that this saves - it's worth the extra $$$.
Completely changed music in the rig! Not going to win any subwoofer awards, but to have this go under the seat and take up no space for the sound quality is so worth it. Install was easy but breaking seat bolts loose was not easy. Recommend an impact gun if you or a buddy have one, otherwise breaker bar works just fine. Take your time and tuck wires out of the way, zip tie as needed out of the way.
I was able to install this Subwoofer under my Passenger's Side Seat with some modifications. I had to do this, since I have a Security Box under my Driver's Side Seat. Installation was a breeze and the Sound Output is amazing! I highly recommend this to anyone that wants to enhance their Sound Output and increase the Bass levels.
Wow what A different I would’ve got the 10 inch but I didn’t know they sold it but it sounds great
Great sound I was pleasantly blown away after hearing this product in my unlimited JK. I did have it professionally installed and it was a real pleasure in having that done. I recommend this Alpine Sub. Frank Z.
put this sub in today and it literally changed everything as far as sound is concerned in my JKU. I also installed the kicker upgrade speakers in my sound bar as well and just need to get the front dash kickers installed. This sub won’t shake the car next to you by any means but it definitely shakes the $hit out of your driver seat. I am more than happy with this purchase and would certainly recommend it to anyone with a JKU that needs more low end.
Unless your a huge audio buff, this will not disappoint you in anyway. This little sub rocks. Nice and out of way under your seat. Installation wasn't hard but make sure you have a breaker bar or something really strong to get the seat bolt removed. The quadtrec video made it seem easy to remove the bolts but that was the hardest part. All the wiring that it comes is great, all plug and play. Instructions are pretty good but not great. Love the bass adjuster for instant adjustment on the fly. Yes your seat vibrates now because the sub is attached to the seat but it is kind of cool, you feel it. Completes the jeep audio perfect with this little sub. Note: i replaced the other speakers with the kicker speakers made for jeep. With this sub, my audio is complete. Now time from my next quadratec mod purchase for my 2016 unlimited.
Put this on my wish list, I heard one already in a friends Jeep and it sounded really good and he said the install took about an hour and he was taking his time. The price is pretty reasonable but the plus is the size and it doesn't take up any of the back trunk space. Wiring harness is a definite plus.
Really amazing amount of bass from a small form factor. I had upgraded the dash/roll bar speakers with kickers and this was the perfect finishing touch. It fits really well, is out of sight and weather and throws out some serious bass -best of all it is plug and play. Highly recommended!
This subwoofer is absolutely amazing. It's easy to install (comes with a pig tail that plugs into the back of the radio in the dash) and the bass is strong. It seems really well balanced with my stock speakers. I couldn't be happier. I also like that I don't loose any trunk space like some of the other ones I was looking at.