I have an 89 Suzuki Sidekick hardtop convertible. The stock speakers are a pair of 4" up front and 4" in the back. They buzz on certain songs and sound kind of flat in general. I want to upgrade the audio in it. I don't need to shake the crap out of it. I just want a clean sounding system with a better range than stock. It doesn't need to be terribly loud. I actually take steps to protect my hearing at work and at play.
So, I was thinking better 4" speakers up front, making custom panels for the back and mounting 6" or 6x9 speakers in the back, and adding a 10" subwoofer. Now, this is the part that I have the question about. Where to mount the sub.
I'd rather not reduce my already limited space any more than I have to. A narrow sub box between the rear seat and tailgate is a possibility, but I'd lose the ability to fold the seats forward and haul things. So, I looked at the tailgate.
What would it sound like if I mounted the sub in the tailgate? Here's a pic of what the tailgate looks like with the stock panel removed.
View attachment 26541844
There looks like a large enough square-ish opening right of center to mount a shallow sub on a custom panel. That way it wouldn't take up much space and would swing out of the way if I want to make use of the back.
So, goals for the audio upgrade. Clean sounding, better range than stock, fairly affordable. I'd like to keep my entire upgrade (audio equipment wise, mounting and install is a different budget) around $200-$300 if possible, although lower is better. It's a convertible so I'm going to lose a fair amount of sound when driving it with the top off anyway, so a budget setup is a-ok with me.
Thoughts? Question? Concerns?
