popeyedeno

OK fellas..I am not one to let a good hole go to waste (can you blame me?)
and so I was determined to use the stock location for my subwoofer
upgrade as I prefer tight incabin bass vs. trunk bass...so I built a customer fiberglass/mdf sealed enclosure into the rear deck (my first fiberglass project).
I must warn all that this project has its share of challenges. Bottom line is that the deck has an upper and lower portion (for rigidity) so any cutting needs to ensure you don't sacrifice the rigidity (and it is tac welded). I cut the portion below the subwoofer, but had to offset to one side due to the seatbelt assembly. Then I reinforced the sides and built a fiberglass enclosure with an mdfbottom. Lots of details to work through to ensure it was sealed...say hello kittyhair and caulking. Also has to account for the undulations on the top of the deck and built up the area around the stock hole so I could mount the 8" dual 4 ohm subs from Elemental Designs (btw, these are awesome subs at a reasonable price) so I retain the 2 ohm factory matched impedence. I must tell you that adding this sub in a sealed enclosure has made a gargantuan differnce in my bass response...I can almost leave it as as and just uprade the front speakers now...the bass hits low, hard and tight, to the degree that the amp can support (yes it get's pretty hot now)..here are some pics. With factory amp driving at max power, I cannot feel any vibration/rattle in the deck, but as mentioned before, I took the time to reinforce the deck to "isolate" and dampen the ebclosure from the deck. Next project is another 8" sub firing through the trunk access area and 5.1 amp.

Pics

The initial cut


Side bracing and wall for enclosure


Rear view of the enclosure (Air pockets removed, sanded)..I blended the enclosure with the rest of the deck to maintain rigidity and prevent vibrations/rattles)


Front view..looking at the back seat into the trunk


To ensure the subwoofer excursion does not interfere with the deck liner, I cut off the lip area around the sub (even though I didn't think it was obstructing..but iI was only testing with stock amp)


The final result, with liner in place (still needs a little adjustment)

zax123

Wow, very impressive! How does it sound??

popeyedeno

It sounds really good..the sealed enclosure results in really tight bass and I really like the Elemental Design 8" Subs..they hit pretty low, but the limitation now is the power capability of the factory amp...night and day difference in bass response!

zax123

Nice, yeah I can imagine you definitely need a better amp. I recently upgraded my sub amp from a little Boston GT22 to a JL 500/1. The difference was INSANE!!

Congrats again on your setup, it's very cool!

lembowski

iTrader: (1)

Can you take a pic of the final product? Are you planning on carpeting the enclosure?

popeyedeno

Yes, I will post final pics once I have carpeted it, made final adjustments on the deck liner and routed the subwoofer wires.

A SiQ TL

Deno,
Are you going to put in the other sub first or your amp?
If you do the other sub I think you'll kill your stock amp
Can't wait to here it once it's all done

popeyedeno

Nope, you're right. I have to upgrade my stock amp (or power subs with separate amp) first before I add another sub..so Amp upgrade is next on my list

raoacura

That is awesome - you have inspired me.
So if you get a dual voice coil 4 ohm sub and wire both terminal sets in parallel you get a 2 ohm sub? I never thought of that but it makes sense. I also notice that the Elemental Design subs say they work in infinite baffle applications. I'm sure they would not hit as hard as the sealed enclosure but I'm wondering how one would do without the box.
Did you get the eD 9Kv.2? Thanks.

popeyedeno

yes, I got the eD 9Kv.2...they are awesome and supposed to work in infinite baffle configuration...you won't be disappointed. Besides, ED has an Ebay direct store also, so you can save a few buckes there. You're right that they will hit harder in a sealed enclosure..they recommend 0.3cft and I am around 0.4cft. The little bigger enclosure gives me a little deeper bass. Yup, wire the terminals in parallel to halve the impedence and wire in series to double the impedence.. PM me if you need more details.

ashaman

Good choice on the 9kv.2s

popeyedeno

Right on!!

popeyedeno

Here is final picture of the completed subwoofer in stock location project (stage 1). Next stage is another 8" sub firing through the trunk access and the 3rd stage is the amp upgrade. You can see a glimpse of my cutout for the false floor mdf. Lots of work remain and and will take me a little while since it is the wife's daily driver and I work on it when I get a chance...

The enclosure is level and flat on the bottom, but due to having to deal with gravity (since the enclosure was built in place) the resin kept pooling at the corner and I chose not to sand down too much to preserve strenth)..hence the carpet has a light angle, but it is only due to extra resin..underneath that the mdf back is level..a little cosmetic issue. I plan to get another trunk liner and hide this later.

JDM5lugHatch

popeyedeno- trying to reply to your PM please clean out your PM box. Thanks.

popeyedeno

Sorry..done...should be able to accept PM now

raoacura

popeyedeno - I assume that all 4 sides and the bottom are MDF, is this correct? How about the top? Did you leave the top of the box metal? Thanks for your help.

I purchased my ED 8" but I can't do anything with it. I knew they made a 2 Ohm and a 4 Ohm but I was in a hurry when I bought it so I did not pay attention. I ended up with a 2 Ohm unit. My only option is to wire in series and get 4 Ohm. Oh well - I guess it's time to but an amp. I did email many times to try to swap it for the 4 Ohm but I never received a reply.

My current plan is to pick up a 5 channel (or 6 channel) amp so I can power the sub and the 6.5s. Soundstream's Tarantula 880 looks pretty good on paper. I am going for SQ - not SPL. I don't listen loud so I don't think I need a lot of power.

popeyedeno

The bottom, and most of the two sides (left and right sides) are mdf. I glassed the top and the front/back walls from the inside and extended the side wall a little with fiberglass to accomodate the depth of the sub (including a little extra to accomodate the cooling vents in the sub) and to increase the volume a little to improve the bass response. PM if you need more details and I'll give you my contact info.

I think the soundstream will work just fine..my focus is also SQ..I haven't upgraded the amps yet, but I can tell you, the sealed enclosure + the sub make a big difference in the bass response - I am going to install the Soundsteam D'Artganan 5.1 amp (older model)..just need to find a block of time to start and finish in one shot (wife's daily driver - she takes really good care of it) as I had the car apart for two weeks last time (enclosure, plus dynamat + laying all the wiring for amp upgrade) and she almost left me LOL

aznbo187

iTrader: (1)

I know this is a bit old, but have you ever changed the amp? Also, I don't think I want to go with the hassle of fabricating an enclosure, do you think the eD9kv.2 will do fine free-air with a better amp?

kix S

I just installed a 9kv.2 in the stock location, sealing up the sides and bottom of the stock "enclosure" as some others have done. I have an Alpine MRP-M450 mono amp driving the speaker, and for me it sounded better when I testing it out before I sealed everything up. It sounded good to me in an infinite baffle configuration.

I'm going to pull off the bottom seal plate I made and see if the sound improves, because right now the sub sounds like it's muffled or choked.

kix S

By the way, the 9kv.2 is not a drop-in. The 4" diameter hole underneath the speaker is too small to pass the magnet. I had to make a baffle plate to hold the speaker, which then holds up the rear deck. I may need to have that hole enlarged, or replace the speaker with the JL Audio 8w3v2, if it really fits.

aznbo187

iTrader: (1)

Kix,

I was thinking of doing just a 9kv.2 in an IB setup as well. Doesn't seem like you are too happy with the outcome? Could you test it out to see how it sounds free-air before you seal it up?

Thanks!

kix S

aznbo187,

I am a little disappointed so far. Before I sealed everything up I tested the speaker free air just sitting in the stock location. It sounded pretty good, definitely better than stock. I think either I don't have enough volume in the enclosure, or not enough space under the vent.

Hopefully I'll get some time to play with the setup this weekend, and post pics of my progress.

aznbo187

iTrader: (1)

That sucks to hear. The other person who did the JL 8inch sub free air said it got 3 times louder? Of course that is subjective. I'm really wondering if the results are even worth it now to change out the sub at all.

So at the current stage, would you say it was louder free - air vs. stock, and what about free-air vs your current sealed setup?

98_2.5_TL

Why don't you just keep your sub, get another one, and buy a JL 500/1 or 1000/1, and run the "maximum" RMS to your subs. JL is amazing. or any other fully regulated amp

pilotman28

Sorry to bring up an old thread but I saw it on the FAQ list.

Is the JL Audio ZR800-CW a direct drop in for our rear decks or are modifications required? I'm wanting more bass since my last car had a 12" in it but I don't want to do a lot to my trunk to make it more hassle.

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

I'm curious to know this as well, as well as which other subs are "direct drop-ins" for our cars.

pilotman28

My ideal solution would be whatever I can fit into the rear deck and probably just run wiring for an amp for. I'm ok with modifying the underside to accommodate the subwoofer. If the 10" JL-IB4 would work better I'd be willing to do what I had to mount it in the rear deck. Proper cutting of the opening for it wouldn't be that much of a problem and mounting an aftermarket amplifier is easy to hide as well.

bundy029

how do you eliminate the rattling noise in the car from the bass??

06tlricky

Nice

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

If you put an aftermarket sub in, especially in the stock sub location, you won't be able to eliminate the rattling. It'll only get worse. But, one thing you can do is roll some Dynamat on to deaden the sound.