subwoofer enclosures

[MACspeedTUNER]

I recently bought a 96 grand cherokee limited and im looking to upgrade the infinity system. Im hoping to add just a bit of bass to the system but i really dont want to fill up the trunk with a box. I went to crutchfield.com to try and find a kick panel box or something like that but they only support a 6.5" speaker and i wanted at least an 8. The other option was a box that replaced the little storage area over the right rear wheel (with the cargo net) with a box but the darn thing costs over 200 bucks and i kinda like that little spot (holds all my car cleaning crap quite nicely). They did have a cool peice that went in front of the spare, held an 8 and looked almost stock but it doesnt fit with the optional full size aluminum rim.....which i have. I was wondering if anyone has found a nice enclosure that is not trunk mounted and is unobtrusive. I was thinking about making some type of sound bar that aims the subs back into the trunk area from above the passenger seats or maybe an 8 right under the glove box. Thanks for any info.

PS: looking for the leather cover for the spare wheel, dont feel like paying dealer prices or even my shops cost. My interior is the dark grey. Email me if you have one or can get one cheap. Thanks

[i live in a box]

It you are going to mount an 8" woofer I would suggest aiming it into the cabin. 8", though massive compared to say home audio subs are not going to give you a consistently audible sound while driving (or at least not when you're on the freeway with your windows down). I actually think that you've come up with a viable solution under the glove compartment. Build a sealed box out of fiberglass so that it contours to the firewall and any obstructions. You can find a great fiberglass runthrough at http://www.sounddomain.com/memberpage/493978. This isn't a tutorial persay but it will give an idea of how to piece together fiberglass. You can email him as well by PMing him through sounddomain.com. He returns emails and is very helpful.

I haven't looked for your box on the web because I doubt you'll find it. good luck though

[NulodPBall]

Just a quick thought: what about the space IN the spare tire wheel area? Yes, maybe the rubber may absorb some of the good stuff and yes you'll have to find some way to fix it in place that's removeable but...

Ray

[Dsilver]

I think if you want a good stereo system with some good bass you will just have to get a nice box and some good sub's and an amp.
I have 2 Xtant 10's with a 1000W Amp on the back of the box and the box is fairly large and takes up a decent amount of my cargo area, but hey thats the price you pay for a good stereo system.

[lukep]

Yeah, you're probably going to have to settle with the fact that you're going to have to have a speaker box sitting in your trunk. If you get a smaller 8 or 10 inch sub, you could get a "small sealed box" that won't take up much space, and then just mount the amp onto the box. That really is probably the only way to go to conserve space.

It might be too much trouble to try to mount a speaker in the spare wheel/tire

[bryanbrutherford]

This is interesting, because i was about to post the same question last week.

But since i am an industrial designer by trade, i just decided to build my own box.

I came up with some plans to use a 10" xtant sub powered by a 400 watt jbl amp in a box custom built to fit in that area in front of the spare, it'll be much nicer looking and better sounding than that 3rd party piece you refered to.

the box will accomidate the sub and an area for the amp without extending past the thickness of the spare, and with creative use of the space i was able to get the proper cubic footage the sub is rated for.

i will link up some of the sketches i did and hopefully by monday i will have it done and installed and i will hook up some photos.


my initial plan was to get an open air sub and just mount it in the spare.

[bryanbrutherford]

that's it, took about 6 hours, to build and install, i put the amp under the back seat, It sounds good it isn't super loud but it does add that extra bit that thickens up the sound.

[Dsilver]

Good work man, that's an impressive little box you built there, but I think you need some more power for your Xtant sub, because I have 2 of those 10" Xtant subs, and I have a 1000W amp running both of them, so they are each getting at least 500w, and your only giving yours 400w.

[bryanbrutherford]

Subwoofer Specifications

Size: 10 inch
Rec. Sealed Box Dims: 0.50 - 1.00 cu.ft.
Rec. Ported Box Dims: 1.00 - 2.00 cu.ft.
Free Air Usage: yes
Sensitivity: n/a
Frequency Response: 30-150 Hz
Recommended RMS Power: 200W
Peak Power Handling: 400W
Impedance: 4 ohms subwoofer wiring options

[Dsilver]

Ok, my mistake, maybe your model is slightly different or your subwoofer is slightly older than mine, but anyways, props on that box that you built.

[lukep]

yeah, that's tight, been thinkin about building a custom box myself, but may have to go a different route than this cause of the fact that my spare tire is mounted outside the vehicle.

i'm thinkin 1 or 2 12" subs could be fitted nicely up behind the rear seat, angling upwards towards the rear glass, without losing too much trunks space.

[bryanbrutherford]

lukep

it might be nice to do two 12"s on opposing sides over the wheel wells or between the wheel wells and the rear hatch.

[lukep]

Originally Posted by bryanbrutherford

lukep

it might be nice to do two 12"s on opposing sides over the wheel wells or between the wheel wells and the rear hatch.

yeah good thinking. i'll have to make sure to thoroughly check out my options before locking into a decision. the more I think about that, the more I like the idea.

I'm planning on rewiring my jeep's audio wiring so I can bypass the infinity power amp system sometime this spring, so that should keep me busy for now.

[Dsilver]

Yes it should, and in the long run, rip out that half decent infinity system, and completely replace everything, new speakers, new amps, new subs etc...