Sub Location
 

I know there has been quite a bit of discussion on using a sub enclosure by Zenclosures or hiding one in the spare tire area.

I would like a bit more bass, but I definitely don't need something bone crushing. Has anyone considered or tried to put a small sub enclosure (either two 6" subs or one 8" sub) in the small cavity behind the cross brace. The area currently has a foam piece there. I think some folks have placed their amp in that area. Seems like one would fit and it would be pretty well hidden and not have the issues of fooling with the spare tire.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

I just took a quick glance but the area is no deeper than 3 or 4 inches and not even that wide. I'm not sure how you would mount anything over a 6x9 in that area.

I agree with Rich also 6.5 inch woofers would not make very good bass for equaling a sub. I understand that you just want some bass and I am the same way. A 8 inch sub will work but you have to keep in mind location can make a sub great or can make it sound like crap. Also the size of the enclosure make a difference as well. By having a sub facing the back of the trunk you will get more bass than one facing up where the spare is or facing forward. I do not think were you are thinking of putting woofers or subs would be a very well place.

I'm sorry, but I completely disagree with this, I think 2 JL 6W3v3 subs in a fiberglass enclosure firing up in that cavity would be awesome! I put 2 of the JL 6W3s in a porsche 911 firing up and they rocked, not deep pounding bass, but stellar performance. I'm not sure if the cavity is deep enough, but i think you could easily make it work!

Paul

Postrin, do you have a Z and have you looked at the location he is talking about? We're not talking about the area between the brace and the passenger compartment. We're talking about the area under that beneath the floor. It is extremely small. I'll try to get a pic later.

I do not own one, I have worked on several, and have one at the shop now, I know the area he is speaking about, it is pretty shallow, but we have put amplifiers in that spot, It is a lot wider than it looks when all the plastic trim pieces are out. I don't know if it is deep enough, but if you were to build a all fiberglass enclosure, you could also build a fairly nice fiberglass trim piece for the top.

I assume the piece you are talking about building would protrude out from the area?

2 JL 6w3v3's would fit fine without prodruding from that space. Wouldn't really need fiberglass unless you just wanted to.

Sorry for any confusion I may have started. I'm thinking of the area behind the strut bar and in front of the metal reinforcement (thanks AK for the use of your picture).

I thought it was about 10-11" wide, but I forgot how tall the space is. Regardless, I think I'm going to try a small sub enclosure in the trunk space to see how much of a issue it really is. I'm thinking of Rockford Fosgate P3L-S10. It seems small enough to not take up too much space and if I need to, I can yank it out of the car.

You might be able to put a 8 inch there but it is going to be tight. Also make sure to heavily dynamat the area around the fiberglass enclosure. I would not recommend 6 inch woofers to act as subs. They will not be able to reproduce the frequency's a 8 or 10 inch sub would do.

I just went out and measured it. It is about 34" long which is plenty. The depth is about 7.5 inches which isn't too bad. But the width is only about 8". Even for a 6" sub that is pretty tight but may be big enough for certain subs.

http://www.the370z.com/members/cbric...ripped-out.jpg

I looked into putting two 8's in that area it can be done if the box is glassed but the face of the subs would protrude out of the space a little bit to fit correctly. I decided to put them behind the seats. Link to the thread http://www.the370z.com/audio-video/1...tml#post240426
Its the first time Ive run 8's and to be honest if you want lows go with 10's or larger. I'll be changing mine up soon.

Sub in Rear Strut Area
 

I may do a custom sub enclosure in this area, unless I can pursade Mike (Zenclosures) to fab a sub box for this area. I recall that the area between the rear strut area and the plastic piece located behind the seats is approx. 8 1/2 inches wide (including the area under the plastic lip). One could angle the sub slighting towards the rear to gain some needed width and install a sub grate to make the floor flush and protect the sub from damage.

A 8" sub might be a tight fit inside a sub box, but may fit. Let everyone know if you install a sub in this location since several members have indicated locating a sub in this area. I believe that most 8" subs need approx. 1 to 2 cubic feet for sub enclosured space for optimum sound. Big may enlighten us noobs on this manner.

I am planning to locate the amp in this area as well. Any thoughts?

A amp AND a sub there? No I would not recommending trying it either. A amp would do much better there as a sub such as a 8 would need more space. Remember it is not just the size of the sub but as I said the size of the box it is in and how it is faced. I second going with a 10 inch over a 8 as speed said.

I just did some rough calculations with my measurements and you're looking at about 1.18 cubic feet of space in that hole not including the space a sub would occupy. If you went with the subs Sigur spoke of they would each occupy .03 cubic feet of space in the box. That puts you at 1.12 cubic feet of usable space. Each sub requires at least .18 cubic feet in a sealed enclosure which is pretty darn good.

In other words you could theoretically place two 6w3v3's in this area and it could work properly, but how much bass are you really gaining?

I agree your not going to gain much with 6 inch woofers. They are not considered a sub they are two different things.

I haven't actually heard the 6w3v3's so I can't comment on how good they would sound. I think its pretty safe to say it would be a hell of a lot better than nothing or the factory bose though. They just seemed like the best option for that space when I was brainstorming ideas. They would fit flush with plenty of space fore the required volume of box like you say. There would be plenty of room left on either side for a smallish amp. I still haven't decided what I want to do. I don't like the look of the zenclosure box sitting back there. I'm sure it sounds great, but it just looks a little tacky like something I would of had in highschool. The JL stealthbox looks a lot nicer to me appearance wise, but its not really stealth.

I agree that they are a good idea volume wise and they would certainly blow away the stock systems in our cars. Barring disrupting your spare tire access this could be the best "stealth" option. I will look again tomorrow at the actual dimensions of the subs and see if they really would fit as my trunk is still in multiple pieces.

I think big needs to listen to a pair before he makes judgement. The 6W3 is not a midbass, it is a subwoofer, and firing up in that location would be awesome, they need so little airspace that you could put them just about anywhere.

P

This "mockup" (some adhesive and a weight, LOL) has the actual overall diameter and depth of the JL 6W3v3. It's not a bad fit at all actually. Here's the space:

http://www.the370z.com/members/cbric...r-mockup-2.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/cbric...fer-mockup.jpg

Yea it would definitely be a nice fit. I'll probably go that route or the JL stealth box that's due out shortly. The little black box mounted at the top of the metal ridge is a sensor for the key, and I'm thinking could be relocated to the back side of the metal ridge.

Your going to be raped by how much that stealth box is going to cost.

All your going to add is more mids bass with 6 inch "subs or woofers" They simply can not go low enough to reproduce frequency's a normal sub can. If all your after is more mids bass than upgrade your 6.5 inch woofers in the front and that would save a ton of money.

The Fs on the 6w3 is 42Hz it's not going to go quite as deep as a 12" but to say it's the same thing as a midbase driver that comes with a set of components is a little obsurd.

I'm sorry big, but you're just wrong on this statement. These ARE NOT midbass drivers. They are subwoofers, they play down to 30Hz, the surface are of two of these is greater than a single 10" driver with tons more control.

I'm sorry that we keep on disagreeing, but you really shouldn't make a blanket statement like this.......

Paul

Than install the subs in the doors rather than in the trunk. I am not saying they are going to go as low as a 10 or a 12 and they would probably be comparable to a higher end component set but your not going to get that much bass out of a 6 inch sub. I am not disagreeing with you just arguing why put that much effort into installing 6 inch subs that are not going to go as low as a standard 8 or 10 inch sub nor have as much throw as bigger subs. I use to believe that a smaller sub is going to give you tighter bass and more control. That is just not true anymore I though when I did my setup that I was stuck on a 10 but after getting a 12 inch I was amazed how tight and accurate it was.

I'm not going to waste my time answering this. A midbass driver in a component set and a subwoofer are not at all the same. the frequency response of a midbass driver can go up to 10KHz, these go to 300Hz, they are just totally different, you wouldn't put this in a door because it's a subwoofer and prefers a sealed enclosure.

I think you would be completely amazed by the sound of these. 3 of these can easily be mistaken for a 10" woofer...

Sorry man but from what I am reading on the spec page they only go down to 40 not 30hrz. You are part right in that they are not woofers but subs. That fact aside you still have that fact that they are only going to go around 30 hrz lower than a mid woofer. As big is saying if you want to add more mid than the 6 inch will help but if you want some actual low freq like from drubs or something like that your going to want a bigger sub than a 6.

Look at it another way. In a home theater setup your not going to have a 6 inch sub for bass your going to have a 10 or 12 even the ones for music have a bigger sub than a 6. The martin logans I am getting have a powered built in 6 inch woofer but it is not going to go as low as a normal sub. So i will still get a new sub. just another way to look at it.

The Fs is 42Hz that just means they will start loosing efficiency below that point. It doesn't mean they only play down to that.

Mount them in the doors? Ok this discussion is just getting silly.

The F3 of the subwoofer is 34Hz, the Fs is 42, so the sub maybe loudest at 42, but that doesn't mean it cannot reproduce lower, and I promise you can hear plenty of kick drum bass at 40Hz.

Big, in the end, you should be able to build to what the customer wants. the question asked was could it be done, he doesn't want bone crushing bass, just something more.

The answer is yes, it can be done, it can sound really really good, and you don't need to take up any space.

I think you like double postings lol. Yes I always do what the customer wants. If that is what they want than that is what they will get. And yes the answer is yes it can be done.

deleted the double post

P

So it's decided. A 6.5" sub will fit but an 8" most likely won't. Problem solved.