Sealing off trunk

[jstbass 10+ year member]

I drive a Nissan Altima and up till last week I got tired of all the rattling from the trunk. I had my subwoofers facing the rear for the longest time. I have read alot about facing forward and sealing off the trunk so I thought that I would give that a shot. The only problem was that I didn't want it to be a permanent thing. So I just turned my box around and made some wood panels on the sides and top. I also lined them with weatherstripping. It sounds pretty good with the seats down and not terrible with the seats up. However, I read on here that if you pop the trunk and the sound gets better that it means your trunk is not fully sealed. Every time I pop the trunk the sound gets better. I cant seem to find any leaks around the box. Atleast nothing I can feel, but I am sure there are some. The only other thing that comes to mind is that I have 6 1/2" speakers instead of 6x9s in the rear deck.

Sorry for the long post, I am just hoping someone can give me some tips to sealing off my trunk better without having a permanent box. Thanks for any replies.

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[goinpro 10+ year member]

what year is your altima?

They are known for being rattle boxes, my suggestion is to take th speakers out of the rear deck all together and possibly port behind the center armrest...

 

[jstbass 10+ year member]

It is an 02. Would you port the seat facing the subs forward or towards the rear?

I just asked about the speakers in the rear deck because I read that they have to be sealed completely. I just wanted to know if it is really important.

 

[goinpro 10+ year member]

i would test it out and see what sounds best for you...have you done any sound deadning in the trunk at all?

 

[jstbass 10+ year member]

Well I have it faced forward right now. It does not have as much output as facing towards the rear. It does not sound horrible but when I pop the trunk the output increases a bit. As for sound deadening I have never put any in my car. I know a couple of people who have spent hundreds but still have rattles. Now that my subs are forward I have practically none.

 

[Krown 10+ year member]

I know a couple of people who have spent hundreds but still have rattles.

They did something wrong.

 

[mazdakid 5,000+ posts]

i had a civic with the sub and port facing forward. just stuffing pillows and blankets around the box the seal off the trunk made a big difference

 

[jstbass 10+ year member]

I actually tried that already. I stuffed pillows and anything else that would fit. It made a difference from not having anything around the box. However, the biggest difference was when I made the panels around the box. The only thing is its not fully sealed.

As for the guy saying that "they did something wrong" every shop I have asked has to get rid of my rattles said that they can't guarantee anything. All have recommended facing forward.

 

[SRim23 5,000+ posts]

I actually tried that already. I stuffed pillows and anything else that would fit. It made a difference from not having anything around the box. However, the biggest difference was when I made the panels around the box. The only thing is its not fully sealed.
As for the guy saying that "they did something wrong" every shop I have asked has to get rid of my rattles said that they can't guarantee anything. All have recommended facing forward.

Must just be a personal preference thing like most of this car audio stuff because just about every shop i have talked to has done anything and everything to talk me out of facing forward.

 

[jstbass 10+ year member]

Did they help you get rid of all of your rattles?

 

[mfenske 10+ year member]

I had a 95 Altima for a couple of years with 3 JL 12W1's facing forward. The box was isolated from the trunk and the trunk didn't rattle at all, the roof did though. The installer said that it was a little louder facing the rear but the SQ was better facing forward. Plus, if it's louder when you open the trunk you're getting some cancellation. I'd try mounting it as close to the rear seat as possible and isolating the trunk from the cabin.

 

[jstbass 10+ year member]

I know its not as loud but getting rid of the rattle is what I was hoping for. I am trying to see if anyone else has any experience with switching around there subs. I really hope that the 6 1/2s have something to do with it, since that would be an easy fix. However, if anyone else had some tips I would love to hear them.

 

[TIeclipseMOJO 10+ year member]

for my trunk, i get better SPL facing the subs forward, but better SQ facing rear, but my trunk rattles retardly facing rear, even with 3 layers of dynamat extream. if youre trying to seal off your trunk you are probably losing a ton out of the gap around your 6.5s. cut a plate out of MDF for them or buy one of the plastic ones.

 

[jstbass 10+ year member]

Thanks for the input. Would you recommend just doing 6x9s like the car had originally? I just put in 6 1/2s for extra output when facing towards the rear.

Also would you recommend anything around the speakers? I read that baffles are good when facing forward, thanks again.

 

[swangin68 10+ year member]

baffles? ive been going thru the same situation with my 4 door 02 accord. when i turned the subs facing rear it rattled like crazy and my trunk looked like it was gonna blow off the hinges, no joke. so i was gonna seal the trunk off to the cabin but first i tried facing them foward with the box all the way to the rear of the trunk, no cancelation and clean loud output. and that was a sealed box. hardly any rattle. so i wanted louder and deeper so i made a ported enclosure at 34hz. with 1500 watts tried rear facing trunk got worse thought i was gonna break or bend the trunk hinges!!! and output wasnt great either, so i faced it foward and this thing really hits nice. with the back of the box all the way to the back of the trunk. i only got about a foot to the seat in the front since my box is 26 " deep. but it sounds clean hard loud and alot less rattles, im happy with the sound...very quiet rattles, only on certain bass. and my whole roof and windshield just flex with hard notes, its a beautiful thing