Cabrio subwoofer question>

[StereoInstaller1]

hmmmmm yeah that won't work, my gf is 5'5"

Bring her along...I will "measure" her legs...

[CorvallisBMW]

omg you dirty old man :)

[StereoInstaller1]

omg you dirty old man :)

What...is she under 18?

[CorvallisBMW]

What...is she under 18?

No, but she's probably half your age :)

[StereoInstaller1]

No, but she's probably half your age :)

Doesn't that mean she is older than you?

[CorvallisBMW]

Doesn't that mean she is older than you?

No, I'm not that good. She's the same age, 22

[StereoInstaller1]

See, she is exactly half my age!

Sorry, dewd, she is too old for me.

[talltorontoguy]

Wow this vert audio thread has been going for quite some time without any definitive solution. Seems to me the solutions presented so far (that could work) are:

1. Take out back seat, put in custom box and drive a loud roadster. Easy, sounds good, but not stealth and loses back seat functionality.

2. Put box in trunk, with ports to cabin through existing holes in the partitions in trunk and out through seatbelt holder area (cut out back of seatbelt holder). Would be about an 18" run of port, external to the box... possible? Stealth, good sound (if correctly ported), loss of trunk space. Not much work.

3. Seal the partitions between the the rear seat and trunk. Weld in a reinforcement ring to maintain structural integrity. Cut out center of ring and mount driver(s) on ring firing into trunk. Port to cabin through option 2 above. Would require thoughtful design as the "box" cannot be modified, so have to pick drivers and ports carefully. Stealth, good sound (if designed properly), no impact to seating or trunk space. A lot of work.

4. Put custom box in trunk. Period. Do it right and make sure you have lots of clean power/efficient drivers to overcome road / wind noise. Stealth, decent sound, loss of trunk space.

I could be off on these options. I'm no sound engineer.

In my case, I want to keep a back seat so that leaves options 2 through 4 for me.

Discussion?

[StereoInstaller1]

Dude, those ARE the options! What more do you want? Make a decision and pursue.

If I had a cabby (and I will) I would go for the no back seat option...but mine will be a show/cruise car only, so back seat use is of no concern. Since you want to use yours, get busy on the welding.

[talltorontoguy]

I have made a decision, which was to run the box in the trunk with no cabin porting. My problem isn't the fabrication part, it's the acoustic design part... I need help with the design of the box / ports.

Seems that the best sounding solution (other than seat removal) is either option 2 or 3 above. I don't want to get into a lot of welding but if it means a 2x difference in sound quality then I would do it.

Option 2 (box trunk, ports to seatbelt) seems easier but I'm guessing would require some unique box engineering with the long port(s) external to the box. (again, I'm no expert)

Have you built one similar to this before Luke? Maybe you can share some info with us vert owners? Point us in the right direction?

Rod

[delphini]

As of late i have just had to put the sub port to the cabin idea on hold indefinitely. Usually if i'm ridding with the top up the subs sound decent with the vol. turned up . Top down....well thats another story,
it seems that when the cloth top is stored in the compartment (directly above the sub box) the sound seems 45% muffled. The only solution is cranking the vol. even higher......i dunno i guess
i've just dealt with it....

[droptop_325i]

i have the same problem but it doesnt sound that bad with the top down for me but i listen to hip hop so the bass tends to be much louder in that kind of music. it does sound alot better with the top up. whats with all the trunk rattle do you get that as well.

[fporro]

Hi to all.

First off, holes were there when i bought her, so.

I fill them with 2 x 12", then filled cavity with expanding foam., that worked ok since I listen to classic rock.

Eventually one of the MTX 250 blew-up due to condensation as 3rd brake light gasket let water in.

In all, some guy made wooden brackets, so I bought another set of 12's as burned amp took a woofer with him, added 2 new amps to go with them too. Full setup when install will be old school (2000/2001) Sony Xplod with built-in crossovers.

- 4 x 5 1/4" 3 ways driven by 750w ? amp sanwiched between mtx's

- 2 x 8" mid rangers driven by 600W smaller amp. speakers will point upwards from rear foot wells, covered by perforated layer of carpet

- 2 x 12's driven by that monster 750w thing

Will have to line the cavity with some sort of material so it will sort of match required dimentios.
that by the way are 11" floor by 7" or 8" on ceiling, width ? i forgot, 36' something ???
and removing the expanding foam was no picknick after 4+ years 8)

If holes were not there, then I would have opted for 8" bazzokas, place them under rear foot rest areas and somewaht customsize the carpet.

There's other options for smaller semi woofer or perhaps 6" speakers.
I seen this aftermarket pods that replace rear speaker covers, molded just like it but pertruding the thickness of arm rest area. ebay germany it was.

Welll, I listen to Clapton, Hendrix and lots of Sabbath, so a few DB's off the scale won't kill the buzz.

Stinger wires and 1.4 cap just in case., and as currently installed.
Rear seat still 100 functional after removing some foam from lower sections., and, defroster works too.
all 3 sony amps do fit as the old ones are mounted, I'll loose very little storage space.

cheerios and get em e30'sn the twisoesties for me.

[92 mtechnic cabrio]

I sacrificed my spare tire well and put a box in there, then I built a false floor to allow for the excursion of the subwoofer.

Threw the stock carpet back on, mounted the amps against the wall.

Virtually no space lost.

[StereoInstaller1]

Frank, when those Sonys blow (and they will) look fro a woofer with a Qtc higher than .5, preferrably in the .6~.7 range, and dual 4 ohm (DVC)

I can't think of any right off the top of my head, but that will double the bass in that install, and give you far more "punch".

And no, "Punch" woofers aren't it.

Is this the ground point?


If so, I highly recommend moving it. Mount it to the floor of the car, not something welded or riveted in. Every connection is important, ground is likely the most important.

Bolt that sucker directly to the body.

Luke