Mount a enclosure to rear deck?

[Grendel0501]

I have a factory 8in free air sub in my rear deck.

I was thinking about adding a after market sub. I can go the standard route and put a box in the trunk, or... I was wondering what it would be like if I switched out the factory sub for a aftermarket, added a better amp, and tried to mount a smaller, light enclosure to the bottom of the deck. I'm guessing alittle fabrication would be needed, but in the end I lose no trunk space and come up with a somewhat stealth install.

Things I can think of that would be needed to be addressed;

Sub would need to be lowered a inch or so, so during excursion it doesn't hit the factory grill ontop of the rear deck. Spacer rings good enough?

Vibration dampening on the rear deck would be needed.

The factory hole may need to be widened.

If I got the box made of birch and only 1/2in thick, it would be lighter than MDF.

I will probably keep the box sealed, seems that would be lightest. If not, would I aim the port into the cabin or towards the trunk?

Click to read more...

 

[Grendel0501]

Anyone?

Alot of the trunk is lost due to the hybrid battery being being the seat. I think that 'cubby' is just below the factory 8, and just above the hybrid battery. In a perfect world the 8in enclosure would sit perfectly in there.

 

[Ktmrider]

I'm new to this but my opinion would be to use 1/2 wood to keep as much enclosure volume. Plenty of shallow mount subs to choose from. If I had to guess you have about .5cu ft there after wood and sub displacement. Take off the rear deck cover and bolt the box to the bottom of the deck. You can put the driver deeper in the box with an extra piece of wood on the baffle, so sub will mount to the first piece than the second piece will act as a spacer and give enclosure more rigidity.good luck and post back pictures

 

[Grendel0501]

I figured this would be way more common...

No one has tried this?

 

[BOOMINGRANDPA 5,000+ posts]

I figured this would be way more common...No one has tried this?

if u gonna do it i'd go all the way and remove rear deck cover forever.. unless u need trunk alot (i buy grocerys 3 times a week i get by) it would be easier and louder to do a 10 or 12 ported in trunk box.. if u go through all that trouble to do 8 in deck and in a month want more bass u just wasted time and $., get a sundown sa or fi alpha 12 ($149) or even a sealed dayton ho 12 takes 1cf box run 7-800rms to it be lots better...

 

[honkyg 10+ year member]

cheapest and quickest route to save trunk space imo; seal off the rest of the trunk from the cabin, find a driver that works well in an infinite baffle configuration and fabricate the underside of the present deck and opening to suit it's mounting... amplify accordingly.

if increased output is the goal regardless of response clarity, a small 4th order or bass reflex ported through the opening may do better than a sealed alignment.

 

[Kam311]

I figured this would be way more common...No one has tried this?

I've tried this. I built a box for a sundown SA 6.5sw that mounted to the rear deck. The sub was in one 6x9 hole and the port came out of the other 6x9 hole. In theory it was awesome, in actuality it was complete poop.

There were so many rattles that I could never chase them all down. It only played a few notes beautifully and I couldn't turn the volume up very high because it would rattle the rear deck like crazy. Plus it wasn't that loud. Before I cut holes in my rear deck mat (which would have helped with many of the rattles) I decided to unbolt the box and see how it sounded just sitting in the trunk like a normal box. Omg, it was night and day! It sounded so much better across the entire bandwidth and it was deeper and louder. So I scrapped that idea and built a nice box for the baby sub that just sits in the trunk. It's way better sounding. Having that experience I wouldn't even try that again on a rear deck.

Maybe you could chase down all the rattles and eliminate them, but at the time it seemed overwhelming and impossible, especially considering that I could have gotten a bigger sub on a lot more power for all the cash that deadening and strengthening my rear deck was going to cost.

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

It's a huge pita to get right. JL had a factory car done, a newer mustang with twin shallows on the rear shelf. It was ok but it was also a good bit of cone area and done perfect.