junk in the trunk, what's the best way to do this..

[masonholmes]

Got a question for you audiophiles and people who may have tried this.. I should be goin to OH in the near future to get a fiberglass box made for my sealed 10". My original idea was to just sink it down into the spare tire well and drop the flooboard/carpet atop - then it's completely concealed and out of my way, and won't get weathered by putting stuff in and out of the hatch. BUT, is this gonna cause a buncha rattling with the floorboard, and will it sound good like this (rattling not taken into account)? I'm used to what it sounds like with it facing up and towards the hatch glass, nothing to disturb the soundwaves hitting the glass etc. (the only other system I've had was a pair of bandpassed 12"s, lol) If so, got any other good sounding locations to offer up? It's a 10" eXelon, made for .75-1.0 cu/ft sealed enclosures. Also, is the fact that it will be fiberglassed make it sound different than the typically constructed box?
Thanks,

[monty73741]

i think a 10 sealed in the side corners of the mx-3 would be good
jason danaher

[lakersfan1]

If you're worried about the fiberglass box rattling against the floor board metal, then have the shop put down a layer of Dynamat Xtreme in the well before they lay up the glass. The Xtreme is a rubber based deadener, so it will act kind of like a gasket to keep the box coupled to the frame.

[masonholmes]

A 10" in each rear corner was my original idea.. Who knows, I may go back to it! I wonder how they might sound? I wonder if there's really enough volume there to suit a small sealed 10", without protruding too much out from under the "sides"? For weight reasons, I'd also really like to stick to one good sub, but who knows.. About the rattling, I was more afraid of the wooden floor rattling, as it would be just above the sub. The dynomat sounds like a good idea, but if it sticks, I don't think it would suit me. I wanna be able to pull it out without too much hassle, for goin to the track etc. Thanks for the ideas. Any others/tweaks to current ideas very welcome! I'd really like to put it behind the drivers seat facing up, (no back seat), cause that would be completely out of the way - but of course it doesn't sound nearly as good that far up from the glass, heh.
Thanks,

[lakersfan1]

Why would you keep that piece of wood in there? The purpose of the wood is to keep the floor flat over the spare tire area. If you fill in the whole spare tire area with a sub enclosure, the presumption would be that the top of that enclosure would be flat if you disigned it that way, which would preclude the need for that flimsy piece of wood.

You will want some kind of grille for the sub to keep stuff from going through the cone, though. I'd recess the lip of the sub a 1/2" under the floor level, then put some heavy chicken wire across the face of the box.

[Sonicxtacy02]

I agree with lakers mason, if you get a grill to go over the sub to protect it when you put stuff in the trunk there's really no reason to keep the board.

[masonholmes]

Ah Shaun, but you missed somthing, (that you would know), key to my MX and it's "trunk". My chair.. (I'm a gimp guys
Thanks again,

[lakersfan1]

The assumption if you're putting metal mesh over the sub as a grille is that you'll also lay the factory carpet over all of that.....so dirt shouldn't be an issue.

If you need more than 1/2" recess, then jsut double up some MDF for the ring and give yourself as much recess as you think you'd need. Double 3/4" would give you 1.5" Not sure you'd need quite that much with an Excelon sub, though. Maybe an inch at most.

[masonholmes]

Hmm, guess you're right, lol. I haven't ever looked at the back of the carpeting very close, but I'd bet it will stop most moisture from comming through as well. Since I don't have a backseat, maybe keep a sheet of black plastic or somthing under the carpet, in case I wanna put anything extreemely heavy or messy back there. -maybe keep a piece of foam under the carpet, over the sub, in the winter. Ok, thanks guys, I believe it's solved. One last question.. Anybody specifically heard a sub facing up at the glass in a box, and one sunk down in the tire well, facing up? Wondering how she will sound. As for movement of the cone, it actually moves a pretty good bit. My 150w will push it to nearly an inch of movement upwards, and I never have the amp anywhere near turned up all the way etc.
Thanks,

[masonholmes]

Got another one.. howabout mounting locations for my cap? I've got a fosgate 1f digital that will go inline when the box goes in.. Anybody know if the tire well has enough space in it for like a .8 cu/ft enclosure, and to sink the cap down in there too? I guess I'll leave the amp under the passenger seat for easy access.

[lakersfan1]

If you're putting the amp under the seat, you'll want the cap as close to the amp as possible, or it will limit its effectiveness. Actually, if you're running anything under 500 watts RMS, I'd have to question why you'd even be using a cap in the first place.

[masonholmes]

My electrical system has always seemed a bit under strain.. When you press the brakes, all lights dim a little. Also, the knock sensor in my engine is bad, and thus the engine is running out of time until you hit 4k RPM and the ECU changes how it chooses the timing. The alternator is charging great at 14.6v, but due to the ignition added strain of the system having to spark/combust fuel, much of the time out of time, its putting more of a strain on the system.. (lights will dim when the engine sputters etc) I also plan on having a better amp inline later, and was told that if my lights dimmed just by stepping on the brakes, I should get a cap - so I figured it wouldn't hurt anything to go ahead and get one. Am I wrong?
Thanks,

[Sonicxtacy02]

I agree with lakers mason. I once had 1300 watts RMS pushing without a cap and i didnt have any dimming issues unless i played at full blast. Your dimming issues could be solved by a high-end battery or an upgrade to your grounds. But if you insist on using the cap it will most likely have to be under the seat with the amp.

<small>[ January 15, 2004, 03:21 PM: Message edited by: Sonicxtacy02 ]</small>

[lakersfan1]

If you're car can't handle the break lights, you've got some serious issues that are not going to be solved by a cap. If you're sure the battery is not bad, then I'd say you've probably got a bad (i.e. corroded or loose)ground somewhere.

I did 800 watts on my 626 with an even smaller alternator than is in my MX3, and I didn't have dimming with the AC and lights on. The system I'm in the middle of installing will have about 1,000 watts, and I don't anticipate any problems.

Also, keep in mind that most decent aftermarket amplifiers have a pretty decent capacitance built in right on the amp's circuit board.

Even if I was hooking up a big enough system where I thought I might need extra capacitance, I would still hod a wait and see attitude. If you don't need it, it's a waste. And if you do, like I said, the further away from the amp you go with the cap, the less it will help. If the amp is going under the seat, you might as well put the cap under the hood to avoid running all the extra wire. Running less wire will at least cause less voltage drop at the amp from the added resistance of all that extra wire.

[masonholmes]

Ok, thanks. I guess it must be ground issues, although I've had 3 GS's and every single one of them has dimmed the lights at least slightly, when stepping on the brakes. Wish my "stereo" buddy hadn't advised me to buy a cap, . Anybody here want a brand new, digital, 1f fosgate, lol.