your basket doesn't look like it's tightened down all the way either, looks like there is a gap between the basket and top plate.
Thats correct. That is the reason why his subs arent performing properly. Since its not tightened down all the way, there are several mechanical issues that are causing his issue. They need to be tightened down all the way in order for the subwoofer to function properly.
TJ, if you ran this sub like this for very long, you very well may have damaged the subs. I took the subs out of the box and assembled the top and bottom and i fit flush. It was purchased brand new from TC Sounds a couple months ago and had been sitting on my kitchen counter during that time while I was trying to sell them. I never got to test the subs.
I traded in two of my TC1000's that were blown and Thilo offered me a deal to trade. I sent in two of my TC1000 12's and was given an LMS-R 12. I wanted a pair so I purchased another LMS-R so I could sell these as a pair, knowing I had no way of running these subs in my crew cab Sierra. I have been planning for the past 6 months to run 4 Sundown SA-8's, which I just ordered from my dealer and I get to go pick the 4 SA-8 V2's up at his store next week.
I purchased the LMS-R 12's to sell, not so I could run them. I dont have the room in my truck and it was never my plan to run 12's. I have been running 12's for the past 10 years. I wanted to do something different. So the money left over was going to my SA-8's. But since the OP wanted them by Friday, I opted to upgrade his shipping, insure them, ship two subwoofers in 4 boxes, just like they came from TC Sounds, insured them, Indirect Signature Required and ended up paying $99.98 for shipping so I actually didnt make any money on them after shipping.
So TJ, you need to tighten the bolts down all the way and make sure there is no gap, reinstall the subs and hope that you didnt damage the subs by rwn and with running power to the subs with the gaps in like that. You can see pictures from my For Sale thread that I had both subs with the top and bottoms attached, bolted down and no gap in between the top and bottom assemblies.
If there is an issue with the subs, then they were damaged either by running power with the gaps and not being bolted down all the way and/or the one thing that I said was EXTREMELY important when I told you when you were marrying the two assemblies and sliding the voice coil down into position. Its very important when doing this, that you do not let the voice coils touch the sides when lowering it down to the motor. If you do this, you can damage the voice coils.
Another thing while you have the subs out, is to use a DIMM on each voice coil. If the readings are off, then you damaged the voice coils unfortunately and would have to buy a new top assembly, which Parts Express sells them seperately, which is actually good for you so you wouldnt have to send them off to get them fixed.
Let me know how it goes after you bolt them down. I can work with Thilo and/or Kyle with you, but like I said, if its still not working, its due to either or both of those reasons I stated above as they are brand new subwoofers that never saw any power or been inside of a subwoofer box. I even have pictures in my For Sale thread showing DIMM readings I believe. I could be wrong. Since they are brand new, then I may not have taken the time to use my DIMM.