Well a sub in that position will definitely be better than no sub at all. So if you're in a tight squeeze then I would just put it there. I have a guitar amp I have to get in the car somehow, but I don't think the 10" under the strut bar will do this any good anyways. We'll see...
It's just too much of an oversimplification. Your brain uses a couple different techniques to determine sound direction, two of which are Interaural Time Difference (ITD) and Interaural Intensity Difference (IID). I know all this because of my degrees.

It is true that bass is more omnidirectional. Basically, the lower you go, the less your brain can tell the direction of the sound. This is because lower frequencies will actually vibrate right thru your head (normally your head blocks wavelengths), meaning they'll reach both ears at roughly equivalent times.

However, if your sub is in a really poor location, your brain will still be able to tell its direction by using IID. So you can't just put it "anywhere". This is true of home audio too. Just saying "bass is omnidirectional" is too vague. What's bass? What frequency? Where's the source? Nearby? Far away?

Anyways, none of this should apply to the sub behind the seat question. That's more a matter of angling the sub so that it gets the most consistent sound and has the best enclosure. The enclosure is 90% of the sound of the sub. I'm not sure if you can get a properly tuned enclosure in that small space.

Despite all this text, I'm really not an expert on subs in cars. rpgonzalez is a better source.

 

Sorry to get back on topic, but is there any info on the z6000 amp? It looks perfect for me, especially since I'm getting hte lemans color! I did a search online as well as in dejanews and I cant find much on it. Is it a new amp? Is it on par with a a/d/s/ orion, etc? I am more high end w.r.t. quality.

 

I have a 12W3, pushing it with 300watts Phoenix Gold. Sounds awasome!

I saw the W7 at a local shop, man that thing is HUGE!! it was just a 10in also... I don't think I can fit the W7 and still have space left in the hatch area.. If I have a bigger area to work with, I'm definitely interested in the W7....

 

Yes, that is the best place for lcd monitor.

You can even hide it with the cover...what a great place!

 

Question for you audiophiles - what about the temperatures that these amps can reach - should we be concerned about that?

 

It's supposed to tear sh*t up. Go to www.caraudioforum.com and do a search. You may have better results if you search for the Z7000, since that's the one they're always talking about. Or, just try a search on Cadence.

 

A good amp should not get very hot if you have the proper amount of juice. If you're gonna drive a big sub w/ a 500-watt amp, most people will say you need to mod the electrical system of the car slightly. The simplest solution is a big-*** capacitor (a "cap") and good cables. Monster makes some of these.

If you're trying to go huge, like 2+ 12" and 1000w, you'll probably need to replace the alternator and add a second battery too.

It turns out that b/c of Ohm's Law and some other physics stuff, the more amperes you have, the cooler things run, because the voltage is lower. However, if your amperage is insufficient, then the voltage increases, and everything starts getting hot. Or something like that.

 

If you want a lot of sound out of a small speaker, try using an Orion XTR Pro 10" sub. I have been in car audio for quite some time and from my experience these are the one of the best subs for the size and price. They can hold alot of power also, but they sound good with minimal power. Alot of clean clear bass...especially in a liftback like the Z.

NittoZ

 

Yeah, space is gonna be a killer. I want to put a JL 12W7 in there really badly, but I don't see how it would be possible without taking up the whole trunk.

I've read good things about the Adire Brahmas, and they supposedly work really well in < 1 cu ft of space.

 

Does anyone know the size of factory speakers in the Z?? And is the Stock radio slot a double din size or some odd size??

 

- Two 1.5" tweeters mounted in the A-pillars
- Two 6.5" speakers mounted in the front doors
- Two 6.5" speakers mounted in the rear, behind seats
- One 10" sub behind driver's seat (Bose only)

http://www.zcar.com/forums/read.php?f=5&i=27636&t=27636

No idea.... I'd bet it's some odd size... but it does look somewhere around double-DIN...

 

Wow, that page says the stock amp is mounted in the rear. I wonder where!?!? It would be great to just run 4 gauge back there and have the speaker hookups ready to go!

 

LOL nizl... Im definetely not a theoretical expert, but I have experimented with placement a lot.The only guess I have ever made is that the hatch of a car (or the corner of a room) acts like the body of an acoustic guitar.The sub works off of the resonant frequencies of the materials surrounding it. In my 300zx, there was a HUGE difference between rear facing corner placement and front facing mid placement. I mean, the sub did nothing in the middle facing forward. I have also tried numerous time to achieve satisfactory results by placing the sub right behind the seat of my civic, and it sounds like S@#T.

Imagine: no matter how close a guitar string is to your ear, itll never be as good as adding a guitar body....

 

I remebered something else....

For surfaces to reflect wavelenghts constructively instead of destructively you want the waves coming from the speaker to be in phase with the waves bouncing off the wall. Out of phase happens at 1/8 the wavelength and up, so the sub should not be any further than 1/8 of a wavelength from the surfaces that the waves are bouncing off of.

Since a sub normally operates at about 60Hz (20-80 or 20-120 depending on crossover) then formula says a wavelength from a sub is about 4 meters long (or roughly 4 yards). This means that a sub should be 50 cm or about 20 inches or less away from reflecting surfaces.

The bose sub in more that 20 inches from the roof and the back of the car. With an aftermarket, the sub can bounce off sides, roof, back...the curvature of the rear hatch area can act like a satellite dish.

I need to get coffee now and stop talking....

 

Look at the big brain on the physics teacher!