Subwoofers in the rear side panel???

[alnshan]

The other interior project that I have is installing new rear side panels. I've seen a few blazers with speakers in them, but I was wondering how 10" subwoofers would sound in the rear. I've got a crap load of fatmat so that'll be installed on the side panels, but would I get good sound out of it???

[hotrodhomi]

I don't think the sound would be good unless you made some side panels out of wood. The OG style is to flimsy to get good base. I'm not sure , but I think a 10" sub would be to deep to mount there. I've been thinking about a custom center consol with a sub built in.

[alnshan]

Yeah...actually that's what I was going to do...make it out of 3/4" particle board. I was thinking about getting a stereo shop to make me a fiberglass setup on both sides, but I think it'll be a little costly.

[jakeslim]

fiberglass is VERY easy to work with so you could make your own enclosure.

[jamie72]

this is the box i built for mine, you can see in the seat what i was using..

[671blazer]

hey alan, i was supposed to take my truck over to the shop and get a qoute for you. i wasnt able to do that but i did call them. he said it would range from 1000 - 1200 for a complete fiberglass set up. that included parts and labor (no speakers). he said the quote was based on the last 1st gen blazer they did, he said it covered the entire side panel front to back and had two sets of 6.5 mids / tweets and 2 twelves. he wanted me to come down to see the pics. i been too busy though.

[hotrodhomi]

I would like to see this ^^^

[alnshan]

WOW!!! $1000!!! That would really cut into my budget!!! Hmmmm...I may just make my own box, but out of particle board. Thanks for looking into it though.

[tom71]

jamie do you have more pics of your side panel boxes? they look great

[crzngmychvy]

Originally Posted by alnshan

WOW!!! $1000!!! That would really cut into my budget!!! Hmmmm...I may just make my own box, but out of particle board. Thanks for looking into it though.

Better to use MDF instead of particle board. 3/4 inch would work. I'm in the process right now of finishing a box. I'll post pics as soon as I get a chance.

[krue]

How about writing us a FAQ on it?

[Rokcrln]

Check out this link! It is what I will be doing once I get to that state of the build. http://web.njit.edu/~cas1383/proj/main/

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[RunTMCfan]

Let me start by saying I have 15 years of advanced car audio experience. I've built numerous systems for all types of budgets. I was going to open a shop fresh out of highschool and found out how little money is in car audio sales/installation. So now it's a hobby of mine.

The above referenced link is pretty decent. I've seen it a few times. I'm not too hot on upholstering fiberglass sub enclosures. With all the time and prep put into a nice fiberglass finish, you can paint it very nicely without the seems of vinyl. A custom molded fiberglass enclosure looks too "futuristic" to put carpet on as well. If you build a box out of MDF I would upholster it.

I highly recommend that if you are doing your own sub enclosure that you stick with a sealed enclosure versus a ported box. A ported box will give you more output but proper tuning can be a bear. They can sometimes sound sloppy with some heavy drums. Sealed will make you happy and play all types of music without missing a beat, literaly.

[alnshan]

Rob...let me know what you think.

I'll probably go with the MDF for the box. I have 2 10" JL audio subs and a MB Quart mids and tweets. I also have the kickpanel that will have an MB as well as the bottom of my door. Now the box that I was going to make was going to extend through the length of the wheel well. I was thinking about mounting the amps on one side of the panel box and the other was just going to have speakers. I know this doesn't make sense, but I'll try to draw it up so it makes more sense and post it. DISCLAIMER: I'm not the best artist so PLEASE bare with me.

[LUV2XCLR8]

Like Run said above, 18 years experiance here, now just a hobby, use MDF or fiberglass, no cheap HD or Lowe's partical board, btw Lowe's here sells MDF, I
reccomend sealed unless .................. The local stereo shop is willing to help
w/ the box design, I built all my own boxes, but ...... I used their box program
I prefer ported boxes if you have the means to the data to port them, cya

[alnshan]

Okay...I tried...it's ugly, but I tried.

The center is a fiberglass cutout and you'll be able to see the amps mounted inside.. I haven't figured out what to put in the other panel yet, but I was thinking of even splitting the amps and put one on each side. Still up in the air though.

[hotrodhomi]

I would put the amps somewhere else. I have seen many bowtie cutouts and not very many that look very good. Under the seat is a good place for them if you have enough air flow to keep them cool. you have a good idea though. Are you stock side panels blue? I can't remember.

[RunTMCfan]

Your gear sounds like it's decent to good. The key is the install. If I had to choose I would rather have high quality cable, RCA's and a clean install rather than expensive subs and what not.

For what you are running you will need major power wire, possibly 1/0 but never ever less then 4 gauge for your main power wire from the battery to the fuse distribution block. Might be overkill but when it comes to power wire, ground wire, RCA's and speaker wire bigger is always better.

There are many references online to assist you with proper wire gauge. I cannot stress how important good cable and wire is. I had a buddy with top knotch gear, he used a crappy set of RCA's from a major manufacturor thinking the brand alone would yield a quality product. He was wrong. He had a whine in his system typical of a bad ground. It was his RCA's. They weren't shielding properly. They were picking up the humm from the cab of his vehicle. They are ran under the carpet and pad after all.

Ported or Sealed, it's always a preference. Some subs sound great ported. If you do a ported box don't use the manufacturors recomended enclosure design. Get one designed properly like LUV said. I've always found manufacturors enclosure designs to sound a bit "ghetto."

Good luck and post picks.

[jamie72]

guys i mounted my amp under the rear seat, took a piece of plywood and screwed into the seat frame, works nice, and its hidden with plenty of airflow.
thanks tom sorry no other pics.

[Chevyman63]

Been in the music business for 20 years and I agree with what Run and Luv say. I also prefer a ported sub.

[alnshan]

HotRod...

Still up in the air as to what I'm going to do with the amps, but putting them under seat was a thought. The door panels are blue, but the rear side panels weren't stock.

Rob...

Yes...I totally agree!!! I actually purchased ALL monster cable wiring. From the power, ground, speaker wire, etc. That was definitely 1 piece of my sound budget that I wasn't going to go cheap with. I've installed a few systems before and used cheap cabling and so with it came the "HUMMM". My son thought it was cool because everytime I stepped on the gas...my system wiould rev along with engine.

[LUV2XCLR8]

Awe the memories, dual 0-guage power and ground, caps, isolaters, high
output alts, dual batteries, all Pgold terminals, cooling fans, 4 guage amp
leads, 8 guage speaker leads, aeroports, led's, gold fuses's, rca's, etc....

I had right at $2500 in just wiring and support products alone