OEM Integration@Subthump

OEM Factory Integration
How To add a Subwoofer to An Existing Factory Stereo System

Introduction

Let's face it, most vehicles from the factory have very poor bass reproducing capabilities. Some makes and models are worse than others. Other vehicles may have a factory sub option, but most times it is truly lackluster to say the least. For people who enjoy bass with their music, they ultimately will have to have a sub installed in their vehicle. There are essentially two ways to go about enhancing the sound in your vehicle.

The first method involves ripping out all the components such as the head unit and speakers and starting over with a nice aftermarket head unit. Aftermarket head units allow you to run signal to aftermarket amplifiers which are used to power the component speakers and/or the subwoofer.

The second way is much simpler and more economical. All that is required is the use a device called a Line Output Converter (LOC) and borrow the signal from the factory head unit. This way, you can retain all components of the factory system and most if not all of the features of the factory head unit such as steering wheel controls, RDS, computer functions, chimes, etc. You are basically adding onto the system and not replacing or bypassing anything.  Therefore, the overall cost is considerably lower then the first method.

LOC's

A LOC is simply a device that takes high level signals and coverts them into RCA type outputs which can easily carry the signal to an aftermarket amp via RCA cables. There are several types and manufacturers of LOC's. Some of the more inexpensive units require you to 'tap' (splice or cut) into the rear speaker wires of your vehicle in order to get the signal. There's a few drawbacks of doing this. A. you have to cut your vehicles wires. B. You are splicing into a signal that may be coming from a factory amplifier which isn't exactly the most quality of signal. And C. You often get lots of interference and other signal noises using this method.

The method we use and highly recommend is using a PAC Line output converter. PAC is short for Pacific Accessory Corporation. A company that makes all kinds of integration interface devices for automobiles. The thing we like most about all of the PAC units is that they are PLUG AND PLAY. Meaning there is no cutting of factory wires. The "Add and Amp" device is called a OEM-1. There are three parts to a Pac OEM-1. The first part is the specific T-harness. This is simply a harness that is designed specifically for your vehicle. The second part is the module box or brains of the system. The last part is the output harness which gives you a front and rear set of RCA outputs and a turn-on lead for your aftermarket amp. This is important because you don't have to go searching for a wire to splice into to make your amp come on with your stereo. It's a blue wire right there for you to use.  See below.

Using a PAC OEM-1

Installing and using a Pac OEM-1 is relatively simple. Just pull out the factory head unit. Unplug the factory harness from the back of the radio. Take the corresponding plug from the PAC's T-harness and plug it into the back of the radio. Next, plug the factory harness into the remaining section of the PAC's T-harness. The only things left are to hook up the RCA cables and turn-on lead to the PAC's output harness and run them to your amp and put the radio back in the dash. The tuner section of the OEM-1 has adjustable levels for the front and rear set of outputs which are adjustable. If you are only using the sub (rear) outputs, you should adjust these all the way up before putting your radio back in the dash. This will send a higher signal to your amp and will allow your amps gain control to be set at a lower level. This is really very simple and straightforward.  OEM-1's are available for almost all makes and models of vehicles.

Tip: While you are installing your RCA cables to your OEM-1, we Highly recommend installing the PAC Line Level Controller. What this does is allow the user to control the level of sub volume independent of the rest of the system. In other words, a bass control knob that installs in your RCA cables. If a song comes on that has too much bass, you can quickly turn down the sub a bit. Likewise, if you want your song to bump a little harder, you can turn it up a bit. This is a great feature because not all amps have remote level controls and this is a good way to add a level of control to them.   Amplifiers that do have remote controls typically require another wire to be run from the amp to the control knob. These are inexpensive and can be ordered thru us.

Installing and using a Pac OEM-1 is relatively simple. Just pull out the factory head unit. Unplug the factory harness from the back of the radio. Take the corresponding plug from the PAC's T-harness and plug it into the back of the radio. Next, plug the factory harness into the remaining section of the PAC's T-harness. The only things left are to hook up the RCA cables and turn-on lead to the PAC's output harness and run them to your amp and put the radio back in the dash. The tuner section of the OEM-1 has adjustable levels for the front and rear set of outputs which are adjustable. If you are only using the sub (rear) outputs, you should adjust these all the way up before putting your radio back in the dash. This will send a higher signal to your amp and will allow your amps gain control to be set at a lower level. This is really very simple and straightforward. OEM-1's are available for almost all makes and models of vehicles.

Tip: While you are installing your RCA cables to your OEM-1, we Highly recommend installing the PAC Line Level Controller. What this does is allow the user to control the level of sub volume independent of the rest of the system. In other words, a bass control knob that installs in your RCA cables. If a song comes on that has too much bass, you can quickly turn down the sub a bit. Likewise, if you want your song to bump a little harder, you can turn it up a bit. This is a great feature because not all amps have remote level controls and this is a good way to add a level of control to them. Amplifiers that do have remote controls typically require another wire to be run from the amp to the control knob. These are inexpensive and can be ordered thru us.