So, after long debate of what to do, i decided to somewhat copy a zenclosure's design but built it to my specs and a few tweaks here and there.

I built it to fit my JL 10w3v2. Something like .93 ft^3 and it Barely clears the sub connections on the top wall of the box. But nonetheless it fits and sounds great. It will rattle at crazy high bass, but I like being able to hear when I leave the car, so it's not an issue. Certain notes will rattle almost regardless, but that occurs mostly up front somewhere between the center console and passenger dash (Idk if I am committed to fix that rare rattle). But the amp rack is an absolute perfect fit. When I first put it in I couldn't get it out so I installed the handles that you can see in the pictures.

The front plate was by no means a perfect fit so I actually cut strips of dynamat and put it along the edges. Then when I carpeted it, It was an absolute perfect fit.

I used 3/4" MDF, Carpenters glue, and 1-1/4" wood screws. i went to a local sound audio shop to pick up the carpet for 15 bucks and he suggested i use 3M Super 77 Adhesive which worked fantastically.

If anybody wants the dimensions, I can put them up but bare with me because there was a decent amount of trial and error (especially on the front plate).

And my lights do dim a little now (app. 700 watts RMS) so I was thinking of doing the BIG 3? Any suggestions there? and I looked for a DIY and couldn't find one so if you do for the DE engine, can you send me a link?

My only other concern is my exposed amps. I don't live in a bad area but it is definitely on my mind, so any suggestions of a clean looking cover for when i'm in parking lots would be awesome.

I'm very happy with my first build and box so send me some feedback on my $100 saved and gained experience! And I took out the stock sub plate which was a PITA but making that look nice will be my next project.


I guess the file size of my pictures are too large so ill do one at a time. I'm new so advise me if there is a way around this.

 

picture of the wiring that I know looks hideous, trying to think of a solution

 

And the amps. m500 and f300 fyi.

 

looks good, nice job

 

yeah you will really want to cover those up.. i dont care where you live, someones wana be thug kid will try to take it.

I would have mounted the amps sideways so it flowed better.. but a simple way to cover what you have there is to take a piece of pegboard ( masonite) and make 4 spacers screw them all in and carpet it.. just give it a half inch of space.. basically a floating sheet just over your amps.. you can stilll see em from the sides etc.. but it beats direct view and will clean it up easliy.

ANyways good luck... not bad for a first time too.

About yor alternator? always use big wire, run caps, and sand your grounds to bare metal! makes a huge difference. Also your AC fan draws a ton.. turn your fan down if youre having issues .. but nothing will fix poor wiring size choises and bad grounds.. check your install.

 

the main reason i aligned them vertically was for the wiring so I could have everything come from the top of the bracket. And also I can adjust the amps from inside the car if needed. I really like the idea of being able to see them on display so i was thinking something along the lines of one of the suv cargo covers that i could pull down when leaving the car.