olharleyman

Sorry I did not answer sooner just re found this but here's the recipe for building them

First I lined the inside of the compartment with 3/4 mdf just like building the box for them
then I sealed them with liquid nails for air proofing
Next dynamat them and I have .75 c.f.a. speaker requires .75
the face was cut to fit the speaker and then drilled the face to the sides the box through the plastic for solid fit then more luiqud nail before mounting the speaker.

hope that helps

dirtyXplorer

So...


I finally got the rear panel off. what a PITA. I ended up breaking half of the little plastic clips. I guess that happens when its cold.

I was planning on building a enclosure behind the panel but there is barley any room...pretty much as much room as the plastic storage bin. I decided to use that as the box. It measures out to around .5 cubic feet. The sub I have requires from .36 to .75 cubic feet in a sealed cabinet so it just might work.

Does anybody know if adding fiber in this size enclosure would make a difference?

Pics...

Here is when I finally got the panel pealed back. There is not alot of room to work with.



This is what I was thinking. I am paining the wood black and sealing the whole enclosure with black silicone.

idayota

with the properties of that plastic and being that it is tied into the rest of your back panel without a lot of mass (i.e. like an mdf box would have) there is a good chance you will get some buzzing and rattling. if you go this route, i would suggest dynomatting as much of the back of your plastic panels as possible. it will not help with the efficiency loss of your sub, but it will keep the unwanted noises down. if you don't want to shell out the scrilla on the dynomat, a cheaper (albeit marginally less effective) way of accomplishing the same thing is with rubberized undercoating. it takes a few layers (like 5-6!) to begin to get the sound dampening qualities of dynomat, but it is a ton cheaper!

if you polyfil the inside of your enclosure it will make the box act like a larger enclosure. in essence, the sound waves inside the box have a lot more surface area to be absorbed by than just the interior of your enclosure. you can, to a degree, "tune" your enclosure this way. try filling it 1/4 of the way with polyfil and see how it sounds. then add or subtract as you feel would help and just listen. get it to where you like the sound. the polyfil will also help with the rattling to a degree.

as a whole, this is a very interesting idea! can't wait to see how she turns out.

Belize Off Road Team

just get a Bazooka Tube 8" Subwoofer like i do, it is moveable so you can move it for more space!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and it is small anyways so it takes very little space to begin with. and it makes more sound than the experts who installed thought it would. and for some wierd reason, when i use it and my back window is open, it is even louder. and i replaced my rear speakers with Alpine Type R

dirtyXplorer

idayota: Good Idea with the rubber coating. I am going to try it out and see how it sounds first. I completely sealed every crack with silicone and the wood is attached every few inches with a screw. Ill have to see if I need to add any filling

Belize Off Road Team: I love the Bazooka tubes. You are right, they sound good and are small. The reason I am trying this is because theft is a big issue in my area. People break windows, doors, panels, etc to get at a $100 speaker.

Now to the pics!

Belize Off Road Team

dirtyXplorer, good point on the theft. i didn't think about it because i was always next to my remote which let me know if my alarm was set off and it would tell me if it was a broken window, open door, popped hood, etc etc. i paid extra, but it paid to get the extra!

dirtyXplorer

Yea, an alarm would be a good investment for me

Belize Off Road Team

then i HIGHLY recommend a Compustar 3000 or higher.

dirtyXplorer

here is a teaser

I need to do some trimming etc. but this is what it will look like. I was thinking of cutting a hole or slits in the cover and maybe covering it with speaker cloth.

idayota

grill cloth could look very nice covering it up. does the sub contact the plastic around the edges when it is bumpin'?

dirtyXplorer

I am gonna have to trim the outside lip of the opening but not enough to make it noticeable with the cover on, otherwise it would rub on the surround. I haven't had a chance to hook up the amp yet so hopefully it will sound good. Its been like 15 degrees outside

gte718p

It was already mentioned that the plastic box does not have alot of mass. It is going to tend to want to vibrate. Dynamat, fatmad or any of the knock off brands will help alot. Another option is add fiberglass renforcment to the box. Just lay a couple of layers of glass mat and resin on the inside or outside of the box. It will realy stiffen it up. The sub will hit harder and produce crisper sounds and best part it will only cost about 20 dollars.

dirtyXplorer

gte718p- Good idea with the fiberglass, does the resin stick to the plastic or would I have to prep it with something?

dirtyXplorer

Ok, some updates!!!!

It sounded like I thought it would...Poo . So after reading some online write ups on fiberglassing I decided to tackle it. I have never fiberglassed before and it is awesome. Probably the messiest thing I have ever done and a PITA but now I want to make all kinds of things. Anyway, I built a plywood frame that matched the dimensions of the storage compartment. Then I covered it with fleece using a staple gun. Next I covered it in resin followed by layers of fiberglass cloth and resin. Lastly I covered the whole enclosure with 3-4 layers of rubberized undercoating. This will add mass to the fiberglass and eliminate vibrations.

The end result sounded awesome. Lots more bass and I got the rear view mirror to shake I am still looking for a sub that requires less space because the cab is only ~.5 cubic feet but It sounds pretty good for now.

Now...to the pictures

dirtyXplorer

Bumpity...Instead of starting a new thread, does anybody have a spare compartment cover? cheap?

Let me know...

gte718p

Nice, really nice.

24Runna

Bookmarked. Been thinking of doing something like this for awhile now. The bass is so lacking in the 2nd gens.

dirtyXplorer

I am surprised myself. Today I am going to fully secure it and try to make to panel go back on, It looks like I will have to trim about a half inch off of one side.

I am also looking at better subs. DUAL sucks but for $10 it sounds pretty good. There is not a lot of room so I have been eying the pioneer shallow mount sub but some people have given it bad reviews.

24Runna

I was gonna comment on that Dual brand. Looks nice, but probably doesn't sound nice. Insignia, as much as they look like they will suck, actually don't. Last year I picked up a set for my room, and my god, they have the qualitites of much higher class speakers.

That Pioneer should be pretty good.

dirtyXplorer

yea...since this was an "experiment" I dint want to spend too much money. The DUAL is 400W peak ~200W RMS and supposedly goes down to 30Hz.

Not bad for $10 clearance at pep boys