****Update***
See post starting at #4 to see what I did for a setup.
Went with an Upward firing sub in a "rectangular" box. Nothing fancy.


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Ok, I have searched/read the posts on here until my eyes are bleeding, LOL.

I have a JL10W3v3 Sub, A Rockford 550.2 amp.
I have a BASE 2006Z, NO factory sub.
Sony HU installed
Pioneer Premier 6.5's in the doors.
I plan on unhooking the rear speakers once I am in there....

I plan on removing the factory sub bracket and building a small sealed box to go inside this area. I am HOPING there is enough room to put the amp in there as well, But we will see. I don't want to take up any available storage I am currently using (nothing in hatch, nothing in glove box on passenger side).
I plan on putting the factory solid plastic cover back on (stealth look).

My question is ,
I see a lot of people saying they put in a downfiring sub into that location... So are they saying that the sub is facing down?
I'm guessing the box is elevated enough to keep the sub from contacting the metal?

Would it be just as good to mount it where the sub faces "up"...?

No I'm not going for the loudest setup out there, Just something I can enjoy.

Thanks so much!

 

OR should I make it where the sub is angled toward the front of the car?

Like in this thread?
https://my350z.com/forum/audio-and-v...o-a-box-2.html

 

Yes the downfiring box is elevated, maybe 3-4" off the bottom of the area (over the gas tank). I did the down firing thing and got rattles even after lots of sound proofing. Other people have done it with good results. Upfiring would be the same, I predicts rattles but other's have pulled it off.

Personally front firing thru the stock opening/grill seems like the most logical solution. I like the box you linked to.

 

I ended up building a box that Is upfiring to put in the stock sub location. I plan on trying it like this once I finish my wiring and such.

I'm trying my best to cram an amp in that area with the sub so not to take up any more room elsewhere in my Z.

I ended up with basically a rectangular box (built from 3/4" mdf). At first I had
.75 cub feet of airspace, but ended up having to cut down the high of the box so the sub would clear the metal frame when going in the space behind the seat. So now I have around .55 cub feet of airspace but am adding about 6-8 ounces of polyfill to the box so the sub will do what it should. I will post my exactly measurements later.

I do not plan on laying down any dynamat (or equivalent) but only plan on leaving the factory sound deading matt on the floor of the space.

The hardest part so far has been just making sure all the wires are ran correctly and hidden from sight, But all the write-ups on here have been great to answering that.

I will also let everyone know what the sound is like on this particular setup (and any rattles that I hear).

 

In for photos.

 

I will include a couple photos when I finish this up.
I'm not putting carpet on the box, So expect to see a wooden rectangular box with 50 screws in it ( I sealed the inside seams with a caulk).

Hoping to get this done tonight, If so, I will have pics up in a day or so.

 

Here is a photo of the Box itself,

I thought that since it was a "stealth" box that I would just write the dimensions on there in case someone just wanted to save the photo.

Box is made of 3/4",
Dimensions are 16 3/4" x 12" x 7 1/2"
Inside has been sealed to prevent airleaks
Internal volume ended up being .55,
I put 8 ounces of Poly Fill in the box ( in order to compensate for the additional needed cufeet of airspace).

I ended up wrapping about half the box (on the outside) in sound
deadener.

 

I placed the amp inside the stock bose hole (behind drivers seat) and put
a little sound deadening behind it just to help cushion where it sat.

I ran the power wire down the passengers side and snaked it across to
the other side (see upper left, probably 3 feet extra of wire).

The ground wire was placed under a bolt close to where the drivers seatbelt rolls
up in there. I sanded the area well to make sure I had a good connection with that.

The RCAs and auto on (remote on) were ran under the center console.

Everything is completely hidden once the compartment is closed,
No exposed wires anywhere in the car.


The amp is held by some double side sticky, AND the subwoofer box holds it
in place when it was put in.

At the top right of the amp, I folded up some foam just in case the amp was to try and
wiggle at some point.

You can see some type of "bracket" above the left side of the amp,
I tweaked this with a 3lb hammer.
The top of the sub box will touch this and touch the bottom of the
factory sound deadener you see in there (no I didn't clean the factory sound
deadener, and yes it does look nasty).

 

In this pic you can see the box placed in the hole (with the amp hidden behind it).

This is a tight fit to say the least.

The box itself is not going to move, BUT
I decided to put in a "safety strap" using 3 of the factory bolts in a V pattern.
How tight could I possibly get the strap? Lets just say that you measure and then back up about .25 of an inch and make your holes in the strap, Then leave them all loose until you have them in place and tighten them all a little at a time...
You should be able to easily achieve the key of "e" on band tightness (think guitar string).

The factory NONBose plastic cover fits back on once everything is in place.
How much room in between that cover and the box? About .01 of an inch- NO
I didn't measure, It just barely fit.

Does it wiggle?
NO
Could it ever come forward?
NO
Is it pretty?
NO
Will anyone ever see it?
NO

Did I "tweak the metal area at the top of the opening with a 3lb hammer?
Possibly...

 

What settings did you use?
Amp filter is set on about 110hrtz,
CD player filter is set on 80hrtz after some tuning.
Amp is turned to about 60% gain (it is currently bridge)
CD Player sub preout is set to -5.

Am I a BASS booming kind of guy?
No.
Will this setup shake the mirrors?
Easily,if you turn it up and want that.

I wanted a setup to "fill" in for the lack of low end in sound in the setup.
It does well more than that, but I turned it down, ALOT.

Is there anything that you would change?
Yes,
I am going to put the cover over the exposed wires of the amp. I left this off
as I didn't want to use any more room, But upon putting the box all the way in, The sub box does touch the amp. The car is still in the Garage this morning and I will do
this tonight and finally get to drive my Z again.

After you "tweaked" things with a 3lb hammer...Does it all still fit.
Everything fits as it should, Use common sense when swinging something that size
in there, Pay attention to the plastic snap points and make sure the angles don't change
much. I have one that moved about 10 degrees,, Still snaps fine.

Once again, How loud is it?
Loud enough it can easily overpower the front 6.5's.
Front 6.5's are Pioneer Premiers (yes they sound very good, check them out some time),
Fronts are powered by the Sony CD Xplod player (was in Z when I bought it).

What took the most time to do?
Build the box- I'm not a carpenter.
And running all the wire, I'm a stickler for doing it perfect and hiding it all.

Are you happy with the outcome?
Yes, VERY.

So I can base what level of BASS or stereo enthusiast you are at, Tell me about your past experience with stereos?
I have always used quality items , I have had well balanced systems and systems that would crack the front windshield.
I have 22 years experience in "tinkering" in sound systems... I have never competed but have helped others do so (long ago).
I rate my level about a 6 on the knowledge of car audio over all...

My advice?
If you want to "fill" in the low spot in your stereo... Get a smaller or lower end sub/amp setup if you are going something
similar to my front setup (sony cd running good quality 6.5's). The 1- JL 10W3v3-4 subwoofer and Rockford fosgate amp is a
complete overkill for what I needed..... BUT I went with it because I found it locally in perfect barely used condition for cheap $.

Why do so many people say you have to put the sub in the hatch and take up all your valuable room in the Z..
I have no idea aside from them wanting to shake the mirrors a little more.

I hope this sudo writeup helps someone out there make some choices I had a hard time making.

 

Did this 4 or so years ago, so the pics have been posted before:









Firing upward, with an open grille sounded better to me. Never a rattle, but the back of the grille panel is deadened with pieces of FatMat, as is the box and much of that rear body area.

 

I actually saw your post in my research. Just thought I would share my take on it and how I did it.
I didn't want my amp in the glovebox as I wanted to retain that area for storage.

I do wonder if the factory bose sub cover would make any difference at all in my setup. Mine is just the solid plastic piece.

 

Easy enough to tell. Just listen for a while with the trim panel off. I don't have the metal panel in place in my car, just the plastic trim panel.

 

Today I finally got to drive the car and listen to the audio some. It seems to me that right now it has a very "Hollow" sound to it. I may have to put some additional sound deadener in that area... After all it is a hollow metal lined cavity in there.

I'm hoping it is not due to the small size of the box.

 

My box back in that area sounded a bit "flat" too. The bass had kind of a "thud" sound to it. Not really deep or "warm" as you might have heard people describe home theater subs. (I've got an HSU that pounds hard in my home setup).

I think the problem is the sound has no real path to escape, it just kind of vibrates the various metal and plastic bits. The sound wave from the sub really never has a chance to develop, it just bounces around back there. You might be able to EQ some more "meat" into the sound. Also raising the crossover point should make it more "boomy".

 

Do you have the Blose grille in place, or just the blank panel?

 

I just have the blank panel in mine,

I need to pull that off and see if it helps some, If so then I could get a Bose panel for cheap I'm sure....

 

I have never heard anything impressive from mounting a driver in that location


best bet would be a rear corner single sealed box as far as real conservative set up , with the amp in the OEM sub location

and with the hatch closed it is very hard to see it from the outside of the car, with tints even better

but hey , sound quality is subjective , however you never really build a bass wave from the OEM location

GLWI

 

I removed the factory blank cover (goes behind the driver seat in NON bose Z) and the sub sounds 5x better than with it covered. I am considering buying a Bose cover now.

 

I never could understand why someone would even guess the sound would be better with that compartment sealed off from the rest of the interior, but that's the recommendation that's been going around for years. When I built my system, I tried it both ways, since i had both panels, and the open grille sounded infinitely better - no surprise. I picked up the Bose grille used for $25 or so, and even new from Courtesy Nissan I think they're ~$45 + shipping. Try eBay or the classified section here. I've also always wondered about those pre-made enclosures which hang the box off a blank metal panel, because they would appear to have the same issue.

Anyway, do whatever you think sounds best, but I'm very pleased with my results, and that's what matters.