Well, this 1986 Toyota doesn’t have that problem.

After we removed the factory Dolby Noise Reduction Cassette Tuner, installed an Alpine in-dash DVD player and upgraded the dash speakers, it was time for a little bottom end enhancement. You see, the first two years that Toyota released the MR2 in the US, they included a factory 5 ¼ inch subwoofer under the driver’s seat.

Don’t get yourself all worked up. Since the only other speakers in the car are 4 inchers, it was all they could do to bolster the well-needed lower frequencies. But after 23 years, the foam surround on this factory subwoofer is shot.

And we’re not interested in shopping the market for a replacement to the measly performance of this generation-old bass maker. It’s time for a modern upgrade to match the other components in the system.

If you’ve paid any attention to the DIY home speaker market at all you’ve heard of the Tang Bands. They’re an inexpensive Chinese manufacturer of well-built drivers that people prefer to audition before they announce what you’re listening to. We got a hold of a TB W6-1139SI subwoofer for this project.

Since we’re using the factory amp, which is used to a 4ohm driver, we wanted to keep it simple and power a single driver in the MR2. The TB just fit. And no pun intended; there isn’t any room for a subwoofer in an MR2. The factory sub is under the driver’s seat. We chose the area behind the driver’s seat for our sub.

Here’s what we did:

Take a 6 inch piece of PVC tube

Cut it to 17 inches long.

Make an MDF plug for the end with a router

Install and epoxy the endcap in the tube

Drill some holes in the other end for attaching the sub

Install a piece of closed-cell foam dampening in one end

Cut a piece of closed-cell foam for a seal around the sub

Drill a hole in the factory subwoofer for the wiring

Install that sucker in the car and get to jamming

This is a substantial improvement over the factory subwoofer. Of course all of you 6ft plus Deuce owners are out of luck. The seat won’t go all the way back. But if you’re really jonesing for some bass in your ride, then suck it up and put one of these behind the passenger seat. Or if you’re really looking for performance, get an amp and power one behind each seat.