I have to figure out how to get some bass without losing any luggage space. I plan to get a single 10" sub and an amp. I am aware of the option of putting in a free air sub in the stock location. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

THANKS

 

If you're looking for something that sounds nice and doesn't have to blow your windows down, look into the Infinity basslink or the basslinkx for some more power. Both sound great and are a pretty space-saving solution.

 

12" MB Quart with new Audiobahn metal grill. Tire well location.

 

Custom box there?

 

I have a 10 and an amp that are completely concealed and took up absolutely no luggage space (I can't afford to lose any with all of my military gear i have to throw in the back). I had a custom box built that slides into the space behind the drivers seat and fastens directly to the plate that's already there to attach another glove box. The sub fires up, with little to no rattle. For the amp, i hid it under the existing glove box on the passenger side (in the false bottom). Since it's a relatively small amp, it doesn't overheat. The result isn't a competition sound system, but a perfect balance of bass that sounds great. I didn't need or want something that would rattle my bumper off. After all was said and done, I only spent $500 for sub, amp, box, wires and labor. All components are JL Audio. Best of luck and have fun being creative with a great car.

 

I've posted pics of the box buildout before. 18" square fiberglass under the false trunk with MDF top and spacer ring. Hardest part was building the box to match the height of the trunk to keep everything stock. Had to cut a hole through the thick mat but the metal grill overlaps and covers really nice. I have an Alpine 350W amp and it sounds fantasic with no rattle and enough acoustic force to blow my hair around. I still have space down in the trunk to store things and the grill is very durable metal if I want to tote things back there.

 

Here's mine.



I've got false panels to cover everything to use it as a normal trunk. Here's an old old picture of it prior to the carbon fiber work and the crossovers.



The sub woofer grill is flush with the panels when installed and protects the sub.

 

I'll have to look into doing that with my system further down the road...not enough money right now. :-(

 

thanks for the replies fellas

 

Anyone ever seen a stealth sub install were the sub is sunken down in the spare tire well, and carpet is layed over it? I'd love to be able to do that to my 350 though i doubt thier would be enough space. I can always just go with the grill approach and with the cargo net over top of it, i doubt you would be able to see much anyways.

 

trn, the problem with sinking it below the false trunk in the back is the height between the floor and the carpet. If you use the forward portion of the spare well to build the box into, you will only have about 6" of height. Considering a fiberglass box bottom will be about 3/8" or so, you will not have enough depth to mount very many 12" subs. When my box was complete, I only had 5.6". I chose an MB Quart Reference 12" sub since it only required 5.5", but I wanted to put a little distance between the magnet and the enclosure bottom/floor so I added a 3/4" MDF ring to the top of the box. That way the sub magnet is about 1" from the bottom. Using the stock carpet and the thick carpet, my sub sticks out less than 1/2" above the trunk/carpet. With the grill it sticks out about 1"

So it is not a matter of whether you want something to sit flush or not, it is the limited space you have to work with back there compared to what you are trying to mount. I've seen some people mount more flush by either choosing a smaller sub (10") with less mounting depth...or modify the fake trunk by proping it up higher and thus creating more space underneath. I didn't want to mess with modifying the trunk liner or carpet so mine is the way it is.

Regarding grills, be careful putting a shallow cover over your sub. The Audiobahn I used is pretty tall, but I can still hit the grill with the woofer cone when I have the sub turned up past about 80% volume with heavy bass music.

BTW, mounting in the spare well to me is the best approach, it seems to let the bass build in the trunk while keeping the strut tower unobstructed to allow air to flow freely from back to front.

 

Another problem with putting the sub below carpet is that it will obstuct the free movement (Excursion) of the sub. Your carpet would be bouncing up and down....

 

dannichols, thanks for the reply. I see how much of problem the lack of space can be in the well. Your install is great, i'm really a fan of stealty installs/ not losing trunk space.

 

I was measuring my box setup again this weekend and came to the conclusion you could get one to sit flush or even slightly under the fake floor if you:

- use (2) 10" subs or a 12" with mounting depth <= 6"

- use both the oem carpet and the thick Nissan carpet

- design some sort of low-pro steel mesh cover somehow level with the floor.

- With the grill off and both carpets back there, my sub only sticks out 1/4", so you could probably work it.