How to Make Subs Louder Outside the Car

Hey there, music lovers!

Are you tired of your subwoofers not delivering the powerful bass you crave outside of your car? As someone who has been tinkering with audio settings for years, I know how frustrating it can be to not get the sound quality you want. But fear not, because I have some tricks up my sleeve that will help make your subs louder than ever before.

Let’s face it – a loud subwoofer is a game-changer when it comes to listening to music. Whether you’re into hip-hop or rock, having powerful bass can completely transform the way you experience your favorite songs. That’s why I’ve spent countless hours testing different methods and techniques to add volume to subwoofers.

So if you’re ready to take your music listening experience to the next level, keep reading!

In this ultimate guide, I’ll spill all my secrets on how to make subs louder outside of the car.

Warning: You might just become the life of every outdoor party from now on!

7 Ways to Make Subwoofers Louder Outside the Car

If you have a car audio system, it’s obvious that you want it to get as loud as possible. Subwoofers are used in cars to help make the bass louder. But to achieve this with most cars, you will need external amplifiers and speakers.

• Increase the Subs Size

If you’re looking for ways to make subwoofers louder outside the car, one option is increasing the size of your subs.

Subs that are large in size will have more surface area and thus be able to move more air than smaller subs. This will allow you to increase the volume of your bass without having to increase the power that is going into your speakers.

A larger sub will also help with distortion – especially when it comes to playing music at high volumes. This is because a larger cone (15″ or 18″) will be able to handle more power before it distorts. Thus, you won’t need as much power going into your amp to get good sound quality out of it.

• Raise Power

Increasing the power of a subwoofer is one of the easiest ways to make it louder outside the car.

Most factory subwoofers lack power in comparison to aftermarket subs, so increasing the wattage can instantly increase bass response. This can be done by upgrading your amplifier, or by adding a second amp for more power.

Also, make sure to buy a subwoofer with the right power handling to get the best bass quality. But how much power do my subs need? It should typically be between 1x to 1.5x RMS.

• Use a Ported Box

The type of enclosure you use with your car subwoofers decides the quality of your bass. If you use a sealed enclosure, it will produce a pretty quiet sound. When you pair a ported enclosure with a subwoofer, loud sound waves come out of the box in a constant flow.

The waves coming from the back of the subwoofer act as an amplifier for the sound waves coming from the front of it. This intensifies a certain frequency range, which is called tuning or resonance.

The deeper the sound, the further it travels. The reason is that lower frequencies get past obstacles like walls and ceilings. It means you can be heard without needing to crank up the volume.

To achieve a very low, deep, and penetrating bass tone, you need to have a sufficiently large box size. To achieve this seal the best way is to use a single subs enclosure. This way the woofer will be isolated from the internal dimensions of the box. Also, remember that bigger boxes do generally provide greater sound quality across the spectrum.

Tuning your system in a media player will give you a good idea of how much headroom there is before distortion occurs and what adjustments you might need to make. Ideally, I suggest you tune your system at 30 Hz frequency.

• Place Your Subs Correctly

If you want to add some bass to your outdoor party, the biggest thing you can do is place your subwoofers correctly. You want them in a location where they’ll be able to produce the soundest and cover the most area.

You may want to consider positioning your subs towards the trunk, not the seats so the sound waves reach the crowd. This allows the sound waves from your subwoofer to move out of the car and into open space, maximizing noise levels and minimizing distortion.

If possible, place your subs behind reflective surfaces like walls or curtains so that they reflect and bounce off of these surfaces. The reflection will help amplify the sound produced by each subwoofer, which means there’ll be even more low frequencies reaching your guests’ ears!

• Fine-Tune Your Subs

You might not be able to hear your music as well with all the background noise from traffic and pedestrians when you’re cruising around town.

First and foremost, make sure all of your equipment is working properly. If one of your speakers has been damaged in an accident or by excessive use, it will affect how well they work together with other speakers in your system.

Also, check all connections to make sure nothing is loose or corroding due to rainwater damage (this happens more often than you’d think!).

Finally, if possible, try adjusting your EQ settings so that bass frequencies are emphasized more than other frequencies. Make sure to leave treble frequencies alone.

• Install a Bass Boost 

Install a bass boost in your car and you’ll be able to take your sweet, sweet sound system outside and make even the most obnoxious vehicles shake with the best of them. This is the easiest way to get booming bass without dramatically increasing your cost.

• Open All Your Windows and Sunroof

You can also make your subwoofer louder when you are out and about by opening up your windows and/or sunroof.

The idea behind this is that you’ll let more noise escape and more air in. It will reduce the pressure in your car. Therefore, making it harder for sound to reverberate off surfaces (like the seatbacks).

Frequently Asked Questions Carboast

• Do subwoofers hit harder facing up?

Yes, subwoofers produce better bass sound in an upward-facing position. The sound waves travel more smoothly through the air. It produces less distortion and has less chance of interfering with other car components than if the sub faced downward.

This setup also enhances loudness by increasing the speaker cone excursion without over-driving the enclosure.

• How to place a subwoofer for the best bass and sound effect?

When you’re figuring out how to make your subs sound louder outside the car, it’s important to think carefully about placement.

If you place the subwoofer in an acoustically poor location, or too close to a wall or other surface, then you won’t benefit from its full potential.

To achieve maximum bass clarity, place your subwoofer in the trunk of your car. Therefore, the bass will not sound too boomy in the cabin. It will take advantage of a larger sound stage for a cleaner, tighter sound in your vehicle.

If you’re using a subwoofer box, then there are two places where you can place the subs in the vehicle: the trunk or back seat.

The back seat placement is best if you want to hear the deep stop and high tones of sounds like bass guitars, drums, and vocals. The trunk placement is best for those who want more powerful bass-type music, especially hip-hop or rap.

• Do subwoofers hit harder after a break-in?

Subwoofer break-in is a myth. Many out there claim that it’s important to let your subwoofers “break in” for x number of hours or days before using them and listening.

But this is just not correct. Subs sound the same right out of the box.

• Does a smaller box make a car subwoofer loud?

A bigger box for a car subwoofer is louder. The subs enclosure has to be big enough to allow the speaker cone to move freely. Thus, it produces better bass sounds.

A smaller box can be louder or not depending on whether the subwoofers inside of it can produce a loud sound.

• How can I make my subwoofers last longer?

If you take good care of your subwoofers, they will last longer. Only play at moderate volumes and never blast their full volume. This will prevent damage from occurring.

Subwoofers will have a long lifespan if you only use them occasionally. If you use them every day, then they’ll wear out quicker than if you use them sparingly.

Cleaning your subwoofers periodically is important to maintain their performance. It also keeps the insides sound and looking new, preventing dust and debris from building up and causing damage.

Wrap Up: How to Make Subwoofers Louder

Hopefully, now you know how to make subs louder outside the car with my guide. Make sure you experiment with different placements and EQ settings. Try turning down the subwoofer amp gain and head unit settings for fine-tuning.

So, whether you’re hanging out in the backyard or on a long road trip, let your favorite music come to life.

Last Updated on March 15, 2023 by Danny Reid