Any Thoughts on a Direct Swap of Bose Sub for another Passive Spare Tire Subwoofer?

[alienpoker]

Love the whole thread, and agree that the Bose system lacks quality. Especially (for me) the Sub and high end. I prefer JBL speakers and a less ‘colored’ sound. So thank you to those that have gone before and provided excellent info!

This would be my first real upgrade I’ll add as soon as I have the spare $$ (tax refund ?).

 

[alienpoker]

Yeah, pretty sure it comes out the sub as well.

Yeah I hear a burble from back there, even at low speeds that drives me crazy.

 

[818RZ34]

I don’t have a recommendation on an amp replacement (just went with powered Cerwin Vega), but I did use an adapter from OWC to just tap the factory harness and not cut any wires. Made install a breeze.

https://www.owc-upgrades.com/produc...io-interface-harness-adapters-platinum-series

I had a question on this. How well does it fit in the place of the bose subs? Did you have to modify anything or it just fits in place? With the adaptor its just plug and play yeah ?

 

[Thelife]

The Cerwin Vega drops right in. The adapter makes the audio signal plug and play. You’ll still need to run power from your battery.

 

[818RZ34]

The Cerwin Vega drops right in. The adapter makes the audio signal plug and play. You’ll still need to run power from your battery.

If I was to purchase the powered one I wouldn't need to do that correct?

 

[Thelife]

Powered indicates it has its own amplifier rather than relying on a separate amplifier. You will need to run electricity (power) from the battery to either an amp or a “powered” subwoofer enclosure that has an amp built in.

 

[Bamafanatic]

I have an OWC harness on the way. Im going to add a JBL powered sub. Can someone who has ran power up front advise me the best way and location to get the power thru the firewall? I have a 24 Nismo, do I have the fake sound as well. I was really surprised when I heard about this...seems a bit lame to me.

 

[Thelife]

I believe I used these 2 videos as guides. Both are previous generations but things are similar enough that they provided sufficient info.

 

[Dying Star]

I’m doomed lol, I just wanted something plug and play with a little more than the current speakers.

But relatively speaking, disabling ANC and ASE improves the audio right?

Hey wait so the Bose subbox that comes with the Z is also used in the new murano but that sounds incredibly better Stock?

 

[Bluenoser]

So after 3 months I have an update. After a long wait, my dealer finally turned off ANC and ASE for me. My Z was actually the second one they sold and I think they have only sold 5 to date. So it was no surprise that I had to educate the service desk guy and tech that this is something that could be done. It was helpful that I had the printouts of screenshots of the submenus where this is found. It took them maybe 15 minutes and they didn't charge. I think the car sounds better with this stuff turned off. My wife noticed that there was more "noise". I think the Z has a bit more personality with noise cancellation and sound enhancement turned off.

I am yet to buy an amp for the passive Cerwin Vega spare tire sub, but today I swapped it for the BOSE anyway. I cut the OEM harness to the BOSE and soldered it to the CV harness to see if the OEM amp could power the 11" CV spare tire sub. Probably, to nobody's surprise, I can report that you will want an aftermarket amp. However, the factory system definitely sounds better and with the volume maxed (40) you definitely get more bass as compared to the BOSE. I was worried about clipping but there weren't any issues. Just swapping the BOSE for a passive spare tire subwoofer has been an improvement but I will be buying an amp next week.

Again, if there are any audiophiles on here that can recommend a suitable amp for the CV VS12 I'm all ears.

 

[Bluenoser]

After another two weeks I'm back with an update to bring this to a conclusion. I purchased the Hertz DP 1.500 amp as well as the optional bass control knob and did a quick install today. I'm pretty happy with the bass from an 11" spare tire subwoofer and would definitely recommend this setup. It's a far cry from some of the systems I had over a decade ago (dual ported 15s) but it's lightyears ahead of the OEM Bose.

Running the power is pretty easy but does involve removing a lot of the interior trim on the passenger side. Once I'm happy with the tune, I'll eventually relocate the amp so it's completely hidden. The location I chose for the bass knob (behind the shifter) admittedly looks a bit funny but it's super convenient to have it under hand while driving.

 

[Dreamz]

The Bose subwoofer is in fact 2 tiny speakers (approx. 4") and an amplifier, all in a 12" enclosure, with a 6 pin connector. The wires must be for the signals and the power.
I am considering as a replacement the KICKER Hideaway 51HS10 Powered Subwoofer, 10"(25cm) Subwoofer, 180 Watt. It seems that any "spare tire" enclosures would be somewhat similar to the Bose, with mini speakers inside. I'm old school, and believe in the big cones giving big sound.
My questions will be:
1. Should I use a LOC, line output converter?
2. Is the input power in the Bose sub amplifier 12V?
3. Can I tap into the original 6 pin connector for the signal?

 

[SMAZ]

I purchased my 24 Performance 2 weeks ago and couldn't stand the anemic Bose system any longer. Added this yesterday and ended up keeping the other Bose speakers in place. I had ordered NVX 6X9 door speakers, 2.75" MB Quart and NVX 3.5" speakers for rear, but after A/B, I think the Bose amp and system should stay together. The 2.75" dash speakers lacked mids compared to the Bose. The rears are absolutely worthless to replace regardless. Decided to leave the doors alone since they seem to be paired with the dash speakers and are lower impedance. I also used the NVX amp kit and ran the amp wire back to the sub down the passenger side. Cut the Bose speaker plug off and crimped the high level input harness for the NVX. Red +/Green- is one side, White+/Black-. The Bose is passive which is likely why it's so bad. 1000% improvement in sound. I adjusted the Treble to 2 clicks below max and I'm happy with it now. The NVX has level, sub and band cross over with a remote that I tucked up next to the driver seat for on the fly adjustment until it's set. I added to some of the sound deadening from the factory. The lower floor at the rear could use some. It's very resonant when tapping it. I did snap off one of the clips for the middle rear trim piece. It did not want to come up and ended up putting a crack (frustrating), but can't really see it. It lifts straight up, but pull the rear trunk like housing out first.

 

[Dreamz]

I stand corrected from my previous misinformed post. The original Bose subwoofer is passive, connected only to four (4) signal wires. Therefore, there is a need to bring battery power to any replacement active sub woofer.
From that attached picture, borrowed from another post, what is the item pointed by the arrow?

 

[alienpoker]

The Bose spare tire sub as supplied in the 370Z was not passive. What you point to with the ??? is the Bose sub Amp Model 297172-003P It’s 70W @ 1 ohm. The 2 speakers are 2 ohm, and I suspect in parallel to get 1 ohm.

There are discussions about the Bose sub on 370z, Infinity G37 owners sites and also on Reddit car AV forums. 370Z and Infinity owners have been dealing with these crappy Bose spare tire subwoofers for at least 15yrs. I replaced mine in a 2010 370Z.
Here is the site for the pic you asked about:
https://www.whatsinside.info/bose-nissan-370z-subwoofer/

I think these are the correct harness functions for the 370Z Bose Sub - the wire colors have changed for the passive sub on the RZ34:
OR 12v+
BLACK Power Gnd
BLUE Accessory
Yellow SP+
Purple Sp-

I have checked mine & It appears Nissan has run the 4” speakers in the Subwoofer passively. (My mistake if anyone reding this post thought I said otherwise).

Obviously run a 10A fused 12v power directly from the battery (or suitable tap) and find a decent chassis ground for installing ANY aftermarket Sub or Amp.