When I purchased my 2000 S2000 back in mid 2020, I instantly knew the stock speakers were just a huge nope factor as I can be a bit of an amateur audiophile. They had to go ASAP. After doing some research, I decided to upgrade to the Polk Audio MM6502 and installed them using door panels from a 2007. I did have to modify the plastic brackets to make them fit though, which took some time. If your are not upgrading the wires, then get the Metra 72-7800 Speaker Wiring Harness for easier connection so you do not to cut into the original wiring. All said and done they sounded good, but they were missing the oomph that I like. So as upgrade-itis goes, I purchased the Polk Audio PA D2000.2, a 2-channel amp that perfectly matched the RMS of the speakers.

I went with this setup for maybe six months and while they sounded okay, I just couldn't get past them being a bit on the harsh side. Is is the Polk's in general? Maybe I need to purchase better speakers? Well thinking I could help balance them out, I started looking into a sub. Definitely lots of options here, but quite frankly going custom is just not something I wanted to mess with. More research and I come across powered spare tire subwoofers. Man, things sure have come a long way from when I had two 12" subs back in my teenage days.

So I finally decided to go with the Rockville RockGhost Active Powered 8" Hidden Car Subwoofer from Amazon. I made the measurements to everything to ensure it fit and all seemed to indicate it would. Reviews on this were pretty positive, and I thought since the S2000 is so tiny as it is, this thing should sound better than what most people are reporting in their cars or huge ol' SUV's. After installation I find that it does indeed fit... but only kind of not really kind of. It is sort of like shoving a sandwich that is overstuffed with turkey into a bag too small. Sure, you can make it fit, but it isn't ideal. Basically, I can't use the bolt to anchor the sub back down inside the tire since there isn't enough top room. Clearly my measuring is second rate. I am hoping the tire stays in place, but I think I need to figure something out to help keep it from moving even though it doesn't from what I can tell. I do know I am not willing to sacrifice the spare tire so, I'm making it work as is because I'm a hack and that's how I roll.

Anyway, this helps balance things out, but I am still not satisfied and quite frankly I was hoping for more out of the sub. I am now back to thinking of upgrading the speakers yet again. It also could be the cheap Chinese radio that I am using. I really would like to get that Absolute Electronix Radio Kit with the big Sony head unit. Where does upgrade-itis end? Who knows.

One issue I still haven't figured out yet is I am getting the dreaded whining noise. Even worse is a loud pop when I turn the car off. It is definitely a grounding issue, but not sure why as I grinded my ground point down to the bare metal. Attempting to fix this, I then installed an amp inline power noise suppressor hoping to take care of the whining at the least. Unfortunately that did nada. I then dug through my speaker wire box and found two old Radio Shack ground loop isolators (RCA plugs). These suckers have to be every bit of 25 years old by now and surely the capacitors are no good anymore. Oh well, gave it a go and naturally one was dead and other didn't help the whine, but it did cut down on the power off pop by about 85%. I am going to order a new one and hope I get better results.

Another problem is I can't get the Metra Axxess ASWC-1 to work with the Chinese head unit in order to maintain using the steering wheel controls, though this is actually due to the factory harness I purchased (HA-701721) not having the pins the S2000 actually has necessary to make it work, and I am not cutting into the factory wiring. I will probably get some pins to add to the harness at some point. Or I just get the Absolute Electronix/Sony head unit with the Modify harness and all would be well. Till then.

Okay, now to the installation of everything. Just be forewarned as I mentioned earlier -- I am a hack. Totally amateur at best, so I am sure my installation leaves a lot to be desired and this will probably make the much more knowledgeable cringe at my shoddy "install". In any case, hopefully this helps others and hopefully the pictures showing what I did along the way will stay in this awesome s2ki archive for all of time.

This is the crossover that came with the component speakers. But where to put it?


Here we go, nice and comfy inside the door panel. I used double sided tape and heat shrunk the wire (not pictured) and wrapped it around.


Looking underneath the steering wheel, I used a wire hanger since I don't have a proper snake to go through the door boot in order to run the upgraded wiring.


This is a look from inside the door so you can see where the hanger is coming out.


Full picture of it ran through both sides.


Here I put the wire on the hanger and wrapped it in electrical tape so I can pull it through... but I couldn't for the life of me get it to go through. There is only one solution.


Lube baby! This stuff rocks. Just remember you can never use too much lube, so be generous and lube the start of the hanger up to around six inches of the wire and it should go in with ease (yes, that's what she said). One side note here is be sure to use the electrical wire type of lube like what I have pictured here. I have read if you use the "other" kind of lube it will actually eat and/or corrode wiring. That would be no good.


Showing here is the new wire through the boot from inside the door.


Here I zip tied things up along with the factory plastic connector in order to prevent it flinging around inside the door.


The new wire is complete. Make sure not to cut the wire too short so you have an easier time removing the speaker in the future. I also recommend male/female connectors that's pictured, again for easier removal if ever needed in the future.


Now running the wire along the side. You may want to use some split loom to make things nicer looking and potentially help prevent ground loops. I added split loom the second time I took things apart when I added the sub.


Here you see where I run the wiring up as I continue on to the trunk. You'll do this for all the wires needed to run the amp.


Showing here is the wire going into the trunk using the coat hanger again.


Looking from the trunk you can see the hanger coming through. Now that you have it through, put the wire on the hanger and wrap it in electrical tape again so you can run it all the way through.


Wire now in the trunk.


Repeat the process on the other side. This just shows where I ran the wire.


Another look. This is also where I routed the power wire.


Time for the power wire. Remove the battery. This is the place I felt best to run it since there is a boot that goes inside to the passenger footwell right beneath the battery. Once again the super expensive coat hanger shows up to the party.


Once you have the hanger through the boot, get the electrical tape and tape the power wire to the hanger.


Aaaaaaand lube time. Seriously, you really do need a LOT of this stuff here because there is basically no room to fit a 4 gauge power wire through, but with the lube and a little tenacity it will go.


This is looking up the passenger footwell where the wire comes in.


Now that the wire is in and you have everything lubed up, pull everything through. Take note of where the split loom is as that is where I put the fuse block (see next picture).


Here I have the ANL inline fuse box using a 150a fuse. Closer to the battery the better. This is only maybe 18 inches from the battery. I made sure to leave enough wire here so if I ever do blow a fuse, it is easy to access.


After you have ran everything into the trunk, it is time to ground the wire(s). Best practice is to go to bare metal if you can. I used a power drill and the bit you see pictured to grind the paint off my grounding point.


This is the bolt I chose to use, which is at the far left side of the trunk. Anytime you connect a battery terminal there is potential for oxidization (corrosion), so you'll need "no corrode gel". Put that stuff over the entire area that was grinded down as well as all over the connectors. As usual, you can't overdo it here so apply liberally.


Since there are two amps thanks to the spare tire subwoofer, you'll need a 2-way power distribution block. I now have a fuse near the battery and another one here at the amp level (one for each amp). The block is using two 150a ANL fuses. You'll notice I went from 4 gauge wire to 10 gauge on the egress. Yeah, I probably should have not done this, but I am not pushing a ton of watts, so this shouldn't be a problem.


This is the wiring connector for the spare tire sub all wired up, zip tied and ready to go.


Here you see that I simply put the amp in the little slot near where all the wires originally were ran through the trunk. It fits nice and neatly and I have had zero issues with it being back there. No flying around, no nothing. It works.


Another view of the amp in its resting place.


Here is the spare tire subwoofer in the spare tire. Since you have the spare tire out, don't forget to air it up if its flat or low. I mean if it's flat, what's the point of even having the tire?


Okay, as mentioned earlier in this thread there is only enough room to put this back and the tire itself won't move since its so tight (I hope). But since there is no room to put the bolt back in, the sub itself has the potential to move around. To prevent this, I simply broke off some of the styrofoam from the box the sub came in. Yes, you are actually seeing this.

Before putting the car back together, make sure to turn it on and ensure everything is working first. Wouldn't be so fun having to take everything apart again.


One part I forgot to take a picture of is where I put and routed the wire for the phase switch (adjusts bass, gain, etc.). Basically I just ran it up alongside the center console and stashed it up underneath the steering wheel behind the head unit. It's easy to get to if I needed it.

So there you have it. This is how I did my install like a true hack.

 

In regards to the sub, I used to run a Sound Ordnance B-8PTD 8" behind the passenger seat that I always found adequate for the car, even with the top down.

 

definitely cool work - reminds me of my first S2k... I had some MB Quart 2 way component speakers in the doors powered by a little 2 channel amp under the passenger seat. No bass whatsoever, but aside from that they sounded good.

However... with time I have changed my mind. In this new AP1 since I realized I only take this thing out for driving pleasure on nice weather days I decided to not worry so much about audiophile things. Picked up some Polk DB6502's and am just powering them with a little Alpine KTA-450 amp since the ILX-407 deck is a bit weak even for factory speakers. Still haven't put the speakers in but hey that's what winter is for right?

 

I considered that or similar spare tire subs. Ultimately I went for a Pioneer underseat, which I placed under passenger footwell carpet, by slicing up the white foam wedge that resides under there, to make a slot for it to fit.

It mostly fits woth unaltered carpet lay. It bulges carpet up about 1/2" at the top. Can't be noticed really.

But there is an even better option now. Pioneer now makes a footwell sub. Meant to mount above passenger feet in small cars. That would actually fit precisely slotted into that foam wedge.

It'd be 100% stealthy. Zero intrusion.

You don't get mega bass. All its really good for is rounding out the balance. Allow using crossover to take load off door speakers, so they can concentrate on mids. My hu has built in crossover for this.

Result is I can now crank volume much higher before getting any distortion or annoying vibes from door. So its basically been like adding more amp, since now I can use more of amp I have.

Since I bolted ot down to floor, I can also feel some bass in seats, resting arm on top of door, mirror thumps, etc.

That's all I wanted, so quite please. Not a bass head.

 

Been awhile on updating this thread, but winter sidelining the car meant priorities shifted and I gave up trying to figure out the dreaded whining noise that has plagued me. Also could still never get the Metra Axxess to work and I was continually mulling over getting the Absolute Electronix/Sony head unit. And mulling over did I ever... until I finally pulled the trigger and purchased it with the Sony XAV-AX7000. I had called Absolute about a month ago and they had the face plate already made, unfortunately I was put on a list due to the Sony unit being on back order on top of six other people in the line in front of me. About two weeks later they called saying the unit was in and ready to ship.

After I got the package and opened it, the first thing I noticed is there were no instructions for install. Not a big deal as it really is pretty straight forward. Absolute does have a video on Youtube showing the install; however, it didn't provide all the necessary information one might need. What has changed since their video is they made the harness as all plug and play which was nice. I first used Absolute's harness just to see, and while it worked, the radio controls and mute didn't really work proper. There was also the parking brake wire, a piece they did mention in their video explicitly but not really. The additional three wire harness that one would have had to wire up was actually put together with their harness. This three wire harness was supposed to work in favor of the brake wire, but it didn't really. Didn't matter as I knew about a different workaround and I planned ahead by purchasing the Modifry plug and play harness, DCI and SCV.

The picture below shows the Modifry harness, which required a slight modification. You will see the remote turn on wires for the amp and powered subwoofer (the two blue wires) that I t-tapped into the Modifry harness (blue/white stripped wire). The Modifry harness does come with two wires that are short and cutoff. One is the parking brake wire (I believe it is light green). For this wire I removed the green parking brake wire from the Absolute harness and mated it with Modifry's. You will see why one needs to do this later on. The other is a purple/white stripped wire that is meant for a backup camera.


The Sony unit isn't wireless Android Auto/Carplay, so I routed the USB along the center console. It is actually quite un-noticeable compared to the picture. It is an easy place to plug in.


A better view of the USB plug. Also, here you see the Modifry DCI. Modifry recommends putting it somewhere where it is easily accessible should you need to change the settings on it, and to not risk breaking the module by putting it back with all the other wires behind the radio. It tucks in real easy where I routed it, I just have it dangling for illustration. The dash controls work flawlessly along with the mute button by-the-way.


And another pic showing the DCI and USB.


This picture is looking up and to the left on the driver side under the steering wheel. This is where I routed the parking break wire. That bolt is where the factory ground point is for several wires, and it is an easy spot to access for the parking break wire. Yes I know the connector is red, but one works with what they have on hand.


Updating the firmware here. It is a weird process. After you plug your USB device into USB port one, you then have to plug it into USB port two midway through the update. The second port does not come with an extended wire. USB port two is meant to plug a USB stick into for music only, something I won't use. So in my case by not extending the cable, I will have to take the radio out anytime I have to update the firmware. Not a huge deal as it is easy to take the radio out, but it is a nuisance nonetheless.


This shows me using Weblink. Basically you can cast anything you want to the radio. Remember that parking break wire to the ground point? Well, the actual point for me doing this is it let's you access additional radio settings you wouldn't be able to while driving otherwise. Grounding the parking brake wire lets you bypass this and other don't get caught being dumb thanks to the bypassing (see picture, hint, hint). Regarding Weblink, reading reviews of the app are not very favorable with a lion share saying it doesn't work properly making this feature on the radio moot, but my trial run seemed to work just fine. Time will tell.


Showing Android Auto working (map partially blurred for privacy). No issues there. Just note you can only use Android Auto or Weblink. Not both at the same time.


The radio mostly put back in its resting place and testing everything.


The problems I had initially during the first install of the speakers with the cheap radio where I was getting a pop when turning the car off is now eliminated. The whining noise was mostly eliminated. I figured the remaining noise was due to having the gain on the amp up so high to compensate for the cheap radio I was temporarily using. Once I turned it down to zero, all whining noises were eliminated -- the Sony radio does not need any gain from the amp.

Next is the powered subwoofer that I was complaining didn't really add much punch. Well, it sure does now. After making some adjustments on the 10 band equalizer to tone down the brightness of the Polk Audio speakers, the subwoofer now complements the sound and balances everything out. I should note I have had the top up for all the testing and zero driving with it or with top down driving, but initial impressions are good. There is some rattling with the top up I will need to track down one day, but perhaps it won't be an issue with the top down.

One negative at the moment is the microphone does not work. I can confirm it is the not the microphone itself, but has to be on the unit end itself. I am troubleshooting with Absolute at the moment. Hoping there is just something I am doing wrong or there is a setting I am missing, but I fear I have a defective unit and will have to exchange it.

A few other thoughts on the Sony -- being a slight audiophile I am a bit disappointed with the sound options, especially considering what I paid for this thing. My Pioneer DEH-P9300 from way back in the day (1998 I think?) blows this new Sony out of the water on the sound settings. I am still kicking myself for selling that radio, but then I also thought my car stereo installing days were long past. These are only my gripes and I am sure 95% of people won't notice or think anything of it.

I also feel it pretty lame the unit doesn't have the ability to install or have preloaded basic apps like Pandora, Spotify, etc. My daily driver has these, so I really feel this is a huge oversight. Additionally, album art doesn't appear to show up using Pandora or music direct from my phone. The menu/interface feels a bit dated as well and it doesn't have built in GPS (not that big of a deal since there is AA). And no wireless Android Auto nor HD radio? All these issues really are unacceptable for what this unit costs, and the fact that this isn't 1998 anymore. There are better units out there, but the Absolute Electronix kit only works with the Sony, so I am obviously stuck/beholden to Sony.

The radio does indeed sound fantastic and it is leaps and bounds better than OEM Honda radio and the cheapo I was using. I am not utilizing it, but a huge benefit for some will be the fact it has a built in class D amplifier at 45 watts x 4 channel RMS and 100 watts x 4 channel max. That is freaking cool.

I also have not installed the Modifry SCV yet, nor the backup camera that I purchased with the unit. Those are projects for another [warm] day and I will update once I get to that. The radio really does look good, the kit is awesome, and while obviously not OEM, it looks as OEM as one can get for a car that was never designed to have a double din radio (dash cutting aside) and is 100% reversible. Overall I am happy with how everything turned out and my ears are much happier.

 

Lots of work! Thanks, for the photos.

 

Nice install and excellent pics. Will be very helpful to me.

Question...I began upgrading my sound system last weekend with the intent of only doing component front speakers powered by one of Rockford Fosgate's compact T400x4ad amps. However, since my S2000 is already dismantled, I have started investigating adding a sub in my trunk. It would be a modest sub, one of JL's 10" 300w subs. I have already installed an inline fuse for my original front speaker only install, but now I suppose I need to swap it out for a 2 way distribution block? I would put the distribution block where the current in line fuse is, feed it with one 4 gauge wire, and then have two 8 gauge power wires out, one going to each amp? Is that correct? The JL mono 250w amp and my Rockford Fosgate both spec for 8 gauge power (30 amp and 60 amp fuses, respectively). Getting a little out of my familiarity zone the further down the rabbit hole I go lol but this makes sense to me. I've attached a pic just for kicks.

 

Sure, but you'll need to add fuses for each of these 8 ga feeds, since you won't have the main fuse anymore, once you replace it with dist block.

Also, the wire from the battery that goes to current fuse (and later dist block), if that ever came loose where it enters into fuse block or dist block, that would be bad.

You'd have a very fat wire that of it touched ground, you'd likely have a fire. Cable too thick to just burn up.

So a fuse right where that cable connects to battery would be a good idea.

 

Thanks. I should've clarified, a FUSED distribution block

 

FWIW... I've been running Focal powered sub-woofers for 8-years now. VERY nice sound quality and 100% reliable. Knock on my wooden head.