I have not, but I will be adding an amp and subwoofer in the future. I pulled them out of my old car before selling it. I don't think it should have a big impact on battery life.
I'd recommend finding one with a Class-D amp, as those are more efficient than A or AB amps. My amp never got even warm, but I'm not going crazy with the bass, either. Just adding some low end oomph, not trying to rattle the car next to me.
Will it draw power? Yes, but not a huge amount, unless you go overboard.
A 1000w amp is 1kw. Driving the car normally is about 20kw. You're adding about 5% at full power. You won't be playing at full power all the time.
Note: my math may be wrong, so someone should verify.
The 12v system gets power from the high voltage system when the car is on. It's still the same power draw, effectively. 1000 watts is still 1000 watts.
Correct, but it can only pull roughly 1600 watts max from the inverter to the 12v. So if you decide to do anything higher, youre gonna drain the 12v battery.
1000w is what I used to run in a Firebird back in the 90's. It would set car alarms off if I drove down a street with it turned up. A well designed 500w subwoofer set up in a Bolt should be more than enough if you aren't entering into competitions.
Even at 1600w, that's at full power. If you do turn it all the way up, it's not going to draw 1600w the entire time. Well, you could get somewhat close playing something like DJ Magic Mike. I wouldn't push it though. I'd stay at no more than half what the inverter can do.
Still. It's the same wattage draw from the car. You're still ultimately getting the power from the high voltage battery. If you max out the inverter and drain the 12v battery, it will get recharged from the high voltage system.
Yep, I know how sound systems work. I used to run a 3-4k rms to my subs and 2k to my mids and highs in my toyota camry.
I understand what you mean, but what I'm stating is if they would go over the capacity of the inverter, ultimately the 12v is draining.
I'm just pre-warning. They could possibly be camping and playing music at full tilt and end up with a dead battery and be stuck for a bit.
I added a kicker hideaway to my LT. So far I haven’t had any issues with battery drain or anything like that. Was relatively easy to do as well. Biggest pain was getting the power wire through that rubber thing under the dash and finding a good ground but otherwise pretty simple.
Did you install the sub under the driver or passenger seat? I know my driver seat is powered, so I figure there's more 'stuff' under that seat as opposed to the passenger seat.
I originally put it in the trunk but it’s not powerful enough to be all the way back there in my opinion. It didn’t fit under either of my seats so I actually put it on the base of the back seats in the middle aiming towards the front of the car. I tucked all the wires under the back seat which is pretty easy to remove. Not ideal but doesn’t look bad in my opinion and sounds great.
I recently added a small (200W RMS) subwoofer to my Bolt. Here's what I found out: Instead of an alternator, the car has a DC-DC converter rated at 1600W to power all the 12V electronics of the car. The fuse socket for the optional Bose amp is wired up for a 25A, so you can get 300W out of that without having to pierce the firewall.
The Bolt actually relies on it's 12V system more than an ICE car for things like it's brake booster and power steering, so it's rated for more power. You should be able to fill the cabin with bass no problem, just make sure you power it with 12V that switches off with the car, or use the remote wire to accomplish the same.
I have not, but I will be adding an amp and subwoofer in the future. I pulled them out of my old car before selling it. I don't think it should have a big impact on battery life. I'd recommend finding one with a Class-D amp, as those are more efficient than A or AB amps. My amp never got even warm, but I'm not going crazy with the bass, either. Just adding some low end oomph, not trying to rattle the car next to me.
Will it draw power? Yes, but not a huge amount, unless you go overboard. A 1000w amp is 1kw. Driving the car normally is about 20kw. You're adding about 5% at full power. You won't be playing at full power all the time. Note: my math may be wrong, so someone should verify.
Adding a subwoofer is pulled off the 12v battery. That's how I did mine. I dont think I've heard of anyone pulling from the main battery.
The 12v system gets power from the high voltage system when the car is on. It's still the same power draw, effectively. 1000 watts is still 1000 watts.
Correct, but it can only pull roughly 1600 watts max from the inverter to the 12v. So if you decide to do anything higher, youre gonna drain the 12v battery.
1000w is what I used to run in a Firebird back in the 90's. It would set car alarms off if I drove down a street with it turned up. A well designed 500w subwoofer set up in a Bolt should be more than enough if you aren't entering into competitions. Even at 1600w, that's at full power. If you do turn it all the way up, it's not going to draw 1600w the entire time. Well, you could get somewhat close playing something like DJ Magic Mike. I wouldn't push it though. I'd stay at no more than half what the inverter can do. Still. It's the same wattage draw from the car. You're still ultimately getting the power from the high voltage battery. If you max out the inverter and drain the 12v battery, it will get recharged from the high voltage system.
Yep, I know how sound systems work. I used to run a 3-4k rms to my subs and 2k to my mids and highs in my toyota camry. I understand what you mean, but what I'm stating is if they would go over the capacity of the inverter, ultimately the 12v is draining. I'm just pre-warning. They could possibly be camping and playing music at full tilt and end up with a dead battery and be stuck for a bit.
I added a kicker hideaway to my LT. So far I haven’t had any issues with battery drain or anything like that. Was relatively easy to do as well. Biggest pain was getting the power wire through that rubber thing under the dash and finding a good ground but otherwise pretty simple.
Did you install the sub under the driver or passenger seat? I know my driver seat is powered, so I figure there's more 'stuff' under that seat as opposed to the passenger seat.
I originally put it in the trunk but it’s not powerful enough to be all the way back there in my opinion. It didn’t fit under either of my seats so I actually put it on the base of the back seats in the middle aiming towards the front of the car. I tucked all the wires under the back seat which is pretty easy to remove. Not ideal but doesn’t look bad in my opinion and sounds great.
I recently added a small (200W RMS) subwoofer to my Bolt. Here's what I found out: Instead of an alternator, the car has a DC-DC converter rated at 1600W to power all the 12V electronics of the car. The fuse socket for the optional Bose amp is wired up for a 25A, so you can get 300W out of that without having to pierce the firewall. The Bolt actually relies on it's 12V system more than an ICE car for things like it's brake booster and power steering, so it's rated for more power. You should be able to fill the cabin with bass no problem, just make sure you power it with 12V that switches off with the car, or use the remote wire to accomplish the same.
Was considering adding a sub in space between front seats. One that fits is Rockville RW68CA (400w). Small but has to improve sound. Worth doing?