Earthquake SWS-8X Sub Install for F10's

M5Yams · 01-19-2021, 03:19 PM

Hey guys, a couple months back I made a post about a possible blown under seat subwoofer on my B&O system. After some more digging I found the culprit, a random business card.... But before I had time to look/clean out under the seat properly I did some research and was recommended taking a look at these Earthquake SWS-8X subs. From what I was able to find these were really impressive pieces for squeezing into the factory box and really improved the sound profile. Anyhow I found said business card and put that on the back burner, that is until my girlfriend caught Covid and I wanted a project for my week and a half off.
So I started doing research on what was needed and how to install correctly and found very little information and even less regarding the F10 platform. I knew I needed the adaptor ring(pretty much a 1/2" spacer and some wires) and the sub itself obviously but other than that very few write ups on how its done. I did find a video for an E90 that proved to be quite useful, and here is the address to that video:

But the main point of this post is to show the differences between the E90 video and what I experienced on my F10 M5.(probably the same for all F10's)

First off I needed the two subs and install rings, mostly everywhere I saw said I needed to purchase them separately, but I ended up finding an amazon listing with them packaged together. I don't know if this discrepancy was caused by the age of the post's I was reading or if the manufacturer decided to start shipping the two parts together over time. Either way here is the listing I found:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Next was tools needed to do the job, all fairly common and most people probably have these.
Wire strippers
Ratchet
10mm socket
T10 torx 1/4" drive/1/4" hex bit
T50 torx 3/8" drive bit for ratchet.
Screwdriver for 1/4" hex.
Torque wrench

I personally used a 1/4" drive ratchet wrench for the T10 bit, being a tight space it definitely made it easier to get were I was going. The torque wrench is for retightening the seat bolts. This spec for most BMW's is 35Nm or ~25ft.lbs.

90% of the video is great, the last ten percent is what I'm filling in.

Firstly the seat rail covers are different to the ones I have seen before so the have clips on both sides, the taller side of the clip pops out easily by pressing from the top of the rail cover towards the bottom. The shorter side of the rail is actually clipped by an arm going underneath the rail. If you remove the tall side first it gives you wiggle room to pop the second out.
Next is the seat positioning. In the video after the clips are out and the bolts removed they tell you to move the seat into the middle position and tilt it back, this process gives you little to no room to work. I noticed by it only being about three inches from the furthest front position then using the reclining back of the seat to ensure you done tug on the power cord to the seat you can make loads of room to do what you need.
After that was just taking out the sub. I personally just went the route of only removing the sub and not the entire sub box, or at least I tried to until I dropped a screw and it somehow went under the box and I had to remove the whole thing. Which brings me to the most important part.
The Sub Box with the additional spacer is just slightly too small for the "Drop-in Subs."
With it out you can see as you reassemble with the replacement sub that it teeters in the middle of the box. as you tighten it down the box is slightly pressed apart. No gaps in between the seams of the box were made but the seams starts to spread apart. I didn't think this was going to be an issue and decided to move forward with install. The next thing was the connectors to the sub for power are not on the side where the carpet tucks into but actually on the side nearest to the rear seats. When you cut the connector make sure to cut right next to it with as little loss as possible, it was a tight fit with mine. After reassembly on the driver side seat a sound test was performed and it sounded great. But the passenger's side sub was a different story. I didn't drop the screw the second time around and so upon reassembly and there was a noticeable sound coming from the sub. I can't really describe it but it was definitely different incorrect. So I had to remove the seat again and dig deeper. Firstly if I pressed hard on the metal mounting plate of the sub I had some give on two of the four mounting screws. After tightening them some more the sound improved but still wasn't right. So I thought some more and realized that the two mounting nuts that hold the sub housing down and secure were preventing the plastic housing from flexing out ever so slightly like I need. I remedied this by loosening the two 10mm nuts that hold the sub housing down by 3/4 of a turn. This allowed the sub to seat down in tightly while also making sure the rubber seal on the bottom of the housing is still tightly in place. This last bit is quite important, underneath the sub housing is a ~1/8" hole where you can see the asphalt under the car. This clearly needs to seal up or else you would have water coming into the vehicle. After another sound test the sub sounded correct and I mounted the seat back down.

Finally my opinion on the sound.
These are not a blow your ears of sub!
This is a great thing for me. I love a well rounded sound profile and I listen to everything from Dubstep, to classic rock, to rap, and these produce the right level of bass and are never overbearing the rest of the music. What I notice is that the factory subs sounded great at a lower woofer range, which is almost all rock songs, but when you really needed at deep sub sustained note they fell off bad. Lucid Dreams by Juice world was the first song I really noticed sounding odd with the bass in the car. The thing was the bass was there but the subs couldn't produce it at a loud enough level to sound balanced while listening at high volume( this is how I center myself for a days work lol) So while 80% of songs sounded really good 20% felt terrible where I would just skip them. And honestly this B&O system kills most car sound systems so when you get one of those weird sounding songs it sounds just that much worse. Luckily these new subs produced the deep notes to keep everything nice and rounded at the high volumes and I am very happy with the end result. They say that there is a five year warranty on them so hopefully I don't need to use that but it's nice knowing its there.

P.S. Sorry I didn't take photos but if you are considering upgrading I'll answer any questions you might have!

M5Yams · 01-19-2021, 03:22 PM

Just kidding I have one!
Also I didn't scrape off the foam like the video said, the passenger side I did just barely so I guess it's as needed.

Aceway · 01-20-2021, 10:28 AM

The Earthquake subs are quite a downgrade, but it's cool to see that they fit in our cars.

M5Yams · 01-20-2021, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aceway

The Earthquake subs are quite a downgrade, but it's cool to see that they fit in our cars.

I definitely wouldn't call them a downgrade, I know that there are better ways to fix the sound stage issue, you could add higher quality subs in the trunk with an aftermarket Amp, but that is a more expensive choice and as someone who almost always has a set of golf clubs in the trunk it isn't an option...
But please explain further how they are a downgrade, I'm honestly curious on your opinion.

Aceway · 01-20-2021, 05:49 PM

I ran them in my 335i and while they were nice, I wasn't amazed by them. It also kinda bothered me I couldn't install the dust shield back. My stock amp was probably limiting my experience with them now that I think about it.

I just thought maybe the stock B&O subs might be better but since you can compare the two what would you say?

M5Yams · 01-20-2021, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aceway

I ran them in my 335i and while they were nice, I wasn't amazed by them. It also kinda bothered me I couldn't install the dust shield back. My stock amp was probably limiting my experience with them now that I think about it.

I just thought maybe the stock B&O subs might be better but since you can compare the two what would you say?

The dust shield not being there definitely is a drawback, but sound quality is better out of the earthquake, the b&o subs are the same as every other bmw underseat sub unfortunately, so they're underwhelming. that being said I do think there is a frequency dip, around the 500hz range and I'll have to do some testing and get back with you.

M5Yams · 01-21-2021, 07:26 PM

Update:

After digging further into a frequency drop I have found it is from ~130-145hz which is definitely a bummer, it's actually almost entirely dropped to nothing. I have noticed some songs sounding slightly off but I'm not positive on that to be honest.

Maybe if anyone has time on the stock B&0 system let me know if there is a dead spot there, here is a link to the video that goes from 20hz-20khz.

HTXE93 · 01-22-2021, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M5Yams

Update:

After digging further into a frequency drop I have found it is from ~130-145hz which is definitely a bummer, it's actually almost entirely dropped to nothing. I have noticed some songs sounding slightly off but I'm not positive on that to be honest.

Maybe if anyone has time on the stock B&0 system let me know if there is a dead spot there, here is a link to the video that goes from 20hz-20khz.

Just had a check in mine (stock B&O) with the video you linked. No frequency drop in the range you quoted.

M5Yams · 01-22-2021, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HTXE93

Quote:

Originally Posted by M5Yams

Update:

After digging further into a frequency drop I have found it is from ~130-145hz which is definitely a bummer, it's actually almost entirely dropped to nothing. I have noticed some songs sounding slightly off but I'm not positive on that to be honest.

Maybe if anyone has time on the stock B&0 system let me know if there is a dead spot there, here is a link to the video that goes from 20hz-20khz.

Just had a check in mine (stock B&O) with the video you linked. No frequency drop in the range you quoted.

Yeah I was expecting that, thanks for checking.
So far I have been listening and thinking that it is sounding a bit odd, there is a warmth to the stock system that was missing. Today I went in with the plans of messing with the eq and have found the by bumping up the 200hz 3-4 notches and the 300hz 1 notch it gets back to that warmth which really goes to show you how much the stock subs do. While they might not get deep they help out a ton in the 200-300hz range. I will update with a picture of where the EQ ends up at to get back to normal.

Blue Angel · 02-15-2021, 10:54 PM

M5Yams, hearing you say that there's a complete dead spot with the new subs makes me wonder if they're wired out of phase with the rest of the system? 130-145Hz definitely seems a plausible frequency to blend in with the door speakers. The wavelength in that frequency range is about 8ft, so to hear you report a complete cancellation has me thinking phase issue.

The Earthquake subs face up and the factory subs face down, so that's also a plausible reason to think they need to be wired backwards compared to the factory subs. If this has already been discussed, please ignore... I'm just getting started into this research.

I just bought my F10 (HK, not B&O) and haven't had a chance to play with the stereo yet. So far it sounds OK compared to other factory stereos, but that's not saying much.

01-19-2021, 03:19 PM	#1
M5Yams Private First Class 91 Rep 127 Posts Drives: 2015 bmw m5 competition Join Date: Apr 2020 Location: Fort wayne, Indiana iTrader: (0)	Earthquake SWS-8X Sub Install for F10's Hey guys, a couple months back I made a post about a possible blown under seat subwoofer on my B&O system. After some more digging I found the culprit, a random business card.... But before I had time to look/clean out under the seat properly I did some research and was recommended taking a look at these Earthquake SWS-8X subs. From what I was able to find these were really impressive pieces for squeezing into the factory box and really improved the sound profile. Anyhow I found said business card and put that on the back burner, that is until my girlfriend caught Covid and I wanted a project for my week and a half off. So I started doing research on what was needed and how to install correctly and found very little information and even less regarding the F10 platform. I knew I needed the adaptor ring(pretty much a 1/2" spacer and some wires) and the sub itself obviously but other than that very few write ups on how its done. I did find a video for an E90 that proved to be quite useful, and here is the address to that video: But the main point of this post is to show the differences between the E90 video and what I experienced on my F10 M5.(probably the same for all F10's) First off I needed the two subs and install rings, mostly everywhere I saw said I needed to purchase them separately, but I ended up finding an amazon listing with them packaged together. I don't know if this discrepancy was caused by the age of the post's I was reading or if the manufacturer decided to start shipping the two parts together over time. Either way here is the listing I found: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Next was tools needed to do the job, all fairly common and most people probably have these. Wire strippers Ratchet 10mm socket T10 torx 1/4" drive/1/4" hex bit T50 torx 3/8" drive bit for ratchet. Screwdriver for 1/4" hex. Torque wrench I personally used a 1/4" drive ratchet wrench for the T10 bit, being a tight space it definitely made it easier to get were I was going. The torque wrench is for retightening the seat bolts. This spec for most BMW's is 35Nm or ~25ft.lbs. 90% of the video is great, the last ten percent is what I'm filling in. Firstly the seat rail covers are different to the ones I have seen before so the have clips on both sides, the taller side of the clip pops out easily by pressing from the top of the rail cover towards the bottom. The shorter side of the rail is actually clipped by an arm going underneath the rail. If you remove the tall side first it gives you wiggle room to pop the second out. Next is the seat positioning. In the video after the clips are out and the bolts removed they tell you to move the seat into the middle position and tilt it back, this process gives you little to no room to work. I noticed by it only being about three inches from the furthest front position then using the reclining back of the seat to ensure you done tug on the power cord to the seat you can make loads of room to do what you need. After that was just taking out the sub. I personally just went the route of only removing the sub and not the entire sub box, or at least I tried to until I dropped a screw and it somehow went under the box and I had to remove the whole thing. Which brings me to the most important part. The Sub Box with the additional spacer is just slightly too small for the "Drop-in Subs." With it out you can see as you reassemble with the replacement sub that it teeters in the middle of the box. as you tighten it down the box is slightly pressed apart. No gaps in between the seams of the box were made but the seams starts to spread apart. I didn't think this was going to be an issue and decided to move forward with install. The next thing was the connectors to the sub for power are not on the side where the carpet tucks into but actually on the side nearest to the rear seats. When you cut the connector make sure to cut right next to it with as little loss as possible, it was a tight fit with mine. After reassembly on the driver side seat a sound test was performed and it sounded great. But the passenger's side sub was a different story. I didn't drop the screw the second time around and so upon reassembly and there was a noticeable sound coming from the sub. I can't really describe it but it was definitely different incorrect. So I had to remove the seat again and dig deeper. Firstly if I pressed hard on the metal mounting plate of the sub I had some give on two of the four mounting screws. After tightening them some more the sound improved but still wasn't right. So I thought some more and realized that the two mounting nuts that hold the sub housing down and secure were preventing the plastic housing from flexing out ever so slightly like I need. I remedied this by loosening the two 10mm nuts that hold the sub housing down by 3/4 of a turn. This allowed the sub to seat down in tightly while also making sure the rubber seal on the bottom of the housing is still tightly in place. This last bit is quite important, underneath the sub housing is a ~1/8" hole where you can see the asphalt under the car. This clearly needs to seal up or else you would have water coming into the vehicle. After another sound test the sub sounded correct and I mounted the seat back down. Finally my opinion on the sound. These are not a blow your ears of sub! This is a great thing for me. I love a well rounded sound profile and I listen to everything from Dubstep, to classic rock, to rap, and these produce the right level of bass and are never overbearing the rest of the music. What I notice is that the factory subs sounded great at a lower woofer range, which is almost all rock songs, but when you really needed at deep sub sustained note they fell off bad. Lucid Dreams by Juice world was the first song I really noticed sounding odd with the bass in the car. The thing was the bass was there but the subs couldn't produce it at a loud enough level to sound balanced while listening at high volume( this is how I center myself for a days work lol) So while 80% of songs sounded really good 20% felt terrible where I would just skip them. And honestly this B&O system kills most car sound systems so when you get one of those weird sounding songs it sounds just that much worse. Luckily these new subs produced the deep notes to keep everything nice and rounded at the high volumes and I am very happy with the end result. They say that there is a five year warranty on them so hopefully I don't need to use that but it's nice knowing its there. P.S. Sorry I didn't take photos but if you are considering upgrading I'll answer any questions you might have!
	Appreciate 4 Luckydacuz6.00 Doctor_X1158.00 SSJAR26.50 Aceway454.50 Tweet Quote

01-19-2021, 03:22 PM	#2
M5Yams Private First Class 91 Rep 127 Posts Drives: 2015 bmw m5 competition Join Date: Apr 2020 Location: Fort wayne, Indiana iTrader: (0)	Just kidding I have one! Also I didn't scrape off the foam like the video said, the passenger side I did just barely so I guess it's as needed. Attached Images
	Appreciate 0 Quote

01-20-2021, 10:28 AM	#3
Aceway Captain 455 Rep 875 Posts Drives: E82 135i / F25 28i Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: SoCal iTrader: (2)	The Earthquake subs are quite a downgrade, but it's cool to see that they fit in our cars.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

01-20-2021, 05:49 PM	#5
Aceway Captain 455 Rep 875 Posts Drives: E82 135i / F25 28i Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: SoCal iTrader: (2)	I ran them in my 335i and while they were nice, I wasn't amazed by them. It also kinda bothered me I couldn't install the dust shield back. My stock amp was probably limiting my experience with them now that I think about it. I just thought maybe the stock B&O subs might be better but since you can compare the two what would you say?
	Appreciate 1 yoogene90.00 Quote

01-21-2021, 07:26 PM	#7
M5Yams Private First Class 91 Rep 127 Posts Drives: 2015 bmw m5 competition Join Date: Apr 2020 Location: Fort wayne, Indiana iTrader: (0)	Update: After digging further into a frequency drop I have found it is from ~130-145hz which is definitely a bummer, it's actually almost entirely dropped to nothing. I have noticed some songs sounding slightly off but I'm not positive on that to be honest. Maybe if anyone has time on the stock B&0 system let me know if there is a dead spot there, here is a link to the video that goes from 20hz-20khz.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

02-15-2021, 10:54 PM	#10
Blue Angel Major 996 Rep 1,035 Posts Drives: 2011 323i and 2016 535d Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Ottawa, ON iTrader: (0)	M5Yams, hearing you say that there's a complete dead spot with the new subs makes me wonder if they're wired out of phase with the rest of the system? 130-145Hz definitely seems a plausible frequency to blend in with the door speakers. The wavelength in that frequency range is about 8ft, so to hear you report a complete cancellation has me thinking phase issue. The Earthquake subs face up and the factory subs face down, so that's also a plausible reason to think they need to be wired backwards compared to the factory subs. If this has already been discussed, please ignore... I'm just getting started into this research. I just bought my F10 (HK, not B&O) and haven't had a chance to play with the stereo yet. So far it sounds OK compared to other factory stereos, but that's not saying much.
	Appreciate 0 Quote