Under seat storage bin capacity measurements for subwoofer selection.

[Wayne Kubeck]

Hi Wayne,

I rarely comment on these type of mods...I am not an audiofile as when driving I concentrate on driving...Just me...okay...

What I might suggest based on the Ranger Tremor that I developed is maybe raise the surrounding area of the back seat cavity if possible. you might be able to install a simple rectangular section made out of wood for example that increases the volume for the 10" sub. If still at Ford, we had this clay like material called DumDum. We could clay this up...slam the seat, raise it and the measure the depression to see what clearance is available. Modeling clay might work here as well. Make thick worms of this material by rubbing your hands together to grow these worms. Maybe lay worm on top of worm... I am betting you can gain the volume you need, taking advantage of the under seat space.... This is just a thought and may go down in flames as I have not researched this as my B&O system is very nice for me with my poor hearing thanks to screaming Indy Cars for some 22 years of which I was a track side Race Control Official. (yes, hearing aids are in my future, but I resist. Wife claims selective hearing...um...maybe true to a point....)

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

HI Phil!!

Not a bad idea! I was also thinking of using a cargo net stretched across the back of the cab behind the rear seat for more storage. Thats why I was contemplating the use of the cubby as an enclosure to also save space but I have to take it apart 1st to see the feasibility. The B&O isn't bad but Zen makes a direct replacement module that uses the CAN Bus wiring to convert to RCA jacks and is also programmable so you do not lose the chimes, blue tooth calling etc, so its a slam dunk easy upgrade in my mind plus I have a ton of gear we just pulled out of our car that got totaled.

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[fusseli]

Hi Wayne,

I rarely comment on these type of mods...I am not an audiofile as when driving I concentrate on driving...Just me...okay...

What I might suggest based on the Ranger Tremor that I developed is maybe raise the surrounding area of the back seat cavity if possible. you might be able to install a simple rectangular section made out of wood for example that increases the volume for the 10" sub. If still at Ford, we had this clay like material called DumDum. We could clay this up...slam the seat, raise it and the measure the depression to see what clearance is available. Modeling clay might work here as well. Make thick worms of this material by rubbing your hands together to grow these worms. Maybe lay worm on top of worm... I am betting you can gain the volume you need, taking advantage of the under seat space.... This is just a thought and may go down in flames as I have not researched this as my B&O system is very nice for me with my poor hearing thanks to screaming Indy Cars for some 22 years of which I was a track side Race Control Official. (yes, hearing aids are in my future, but I resist. Wife claims selective hearing...um...maybe true to a point....)

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

I'm going to do this exact thing using Instapak moldable packing foam, to measure the size and volume of the space occupied by the B&O sub. They are available on ebay as individual pieces... hope one for a 1.0 cuft box should do it. Thanks for the idea!

 

[Ed Venture]

There are a few 10" subs designed and engineered to work well in extremely small enclosures like the Focal Sub P 25 FSE (.28 cu ft), the JL 10TW1 (.35 cu ft), one of the older Memphis Audio shallow Reference series (.35 cu ft), Dayton Audio LS10-44 (.45 cu ft), etc.

Thanks all for the recommendations. I'm looking for a 4 ohm DVC woofer to pair with my amp. 90W RMS to each coil. Not sure if any of these come in a DVC configuration, but I will take a look at it.

 

[Ed Venture]

Okay - I did some digging and it looks like the Alpine S-W8D4 would be a good fit. I just placed and order for one and will keep you posted with pictures and results.

 

[fusseli]

Okay - I did some digging and it looks like the Alpine S-W8D4 would be a good fit. I just placed and order for one and will keep you posted with pictures and results.

Cool! Yeah I am on the fence between using the spot in place of my B&O sub, building a thin custom box, and using the tray that you are, and making a replacement storage spot where my B&O sub is.

 

[Ed Venture]

Here is the S-W8D4 vs. S-W10D4:

It looks like the 10" *could* work as well with better low end only a marginal increase between 100 - 150Hz. Now I'm doubting myself...

 

[Viator092]

Ok, I’ll admit it, I read every post in
this thread and understood nothing. My local stereo shop built me a sub box and put it behind the right rear seat. Probably paid too much but it sounds good.

 

[Zaph]

Here is the S-W8D4 vs. S-W10D4:

It looks like the 10" *could* work as well with better low end only a marginal increase between 100 - 150Hz. Now I'm doubting myself...

Don't forget the cone, magnet and frame assembly of the 10 are going to take up significantly more volume that the 8", making the effective enclosure volume even lower and the upper midbass even peakier. The 8 has almost the same extension on the low end without the peaking from high box Qtc in the 80-100 Hz range. You made a good choice, no worries. The 8 is the more musical choice while the 10 in that box would just simply be a booming noise maker in my opinion.

edit: I've got more discussion to talk you out of that 10 if you want to hear it.

 

[Ed Venture]

Don't forget the cone, magnet and frame assembly of the 10 are going to take up significantly more volume that the 8", making the effective enclosure volume even lower and the upper midbass even peakier. The 8 has almost the same extension on the low end without the peaking from high box Qtc in the 80-100 Hz range. You made a good choice, no worries. The 8 is the more musical choice while the 10 in that box would just simply be a booming noise maker in my opinion.

edit: I've got more discussion to talk you out of that 10 if you want to hear it.

Zaph,

Good point - I didn't account for volume of the frame assembly. I have committed to the 8 inch Alpine and have prepped the storage bin for installation:

Installed double layer of sound deadening material:

Cable glands installed in the front to align with wire feed:

Wire run to align with cable glands:

1/4" MDF Top board cut to fit:

Bottom of board lined with a double layer of sound deadening material:

Top carpeted, bottom sealed with GE caulk, screwed to top board:

Now just waiting for the Alpine.


Ed

 

[fusseli]

Zaph,

Good point - I didn't account for volume of the frame assembly. I have committed to the 8 inch Alpine and have prepped the storage bin for installation:

Installed double layer of sound deadening material:

Cable glands installed in the front to align with wire feed:

Wire run to align with cable glands:

1/4" MDF Top board cut to fit:

Bottom of board lined with a double layer of sound deadening material:

Top carpeted, bottom sealed with GE caulk, screwed to top board:

Now just waiting for the Alpine.


Ed

That looks nice and clean! You could glue in some dowels cut to length to brace the MDF. 1/4" is on the thin side.

 

[Ed Venture]

That looks nice and clean! You could glue in some dowels cut to length to brace the MDF. 1/4" is on the thin side.

Yeah - I may have to do that. I needed to keep the top as thin as possible to ensure seat clearance. The good news is that the overall span of 1/4" material is short (~18" in width and ~12" in length). If it is an issue, I can cut a couple of new pieces and laminate them together with glue and screws and recess the sub into the first 1/4" board.

 

[Ed Venture]

Installed!

Zaph,

You were 100% correct! You could put any number of 8" to 10" subs in there, but you would be hard pressed to find one that matches so perfectly with this makeshift enclosure. It is very smooth and very well balanced to be sure. It complements the new door components and rear 2-ways I installed last month quite nicely. I did NOT expect this much range on such a small sub in such an awkward enclosure. I am very pleased with the result!

I am running my doors off a Pioneer GM-D1004 in 4 channel mode and I am running the sub off a second GM-D1004 in 2 channel mono mode with each of the two channels driving each of the 4 ohm voice coils (the amp is not 2 ohm stable when bridged, but what do you expect for a $70 amp).

For those of you who say that you shouldn't drive the voice coils separately because out of balance signals could damage the woofer, I recommend watching this nerdy gem. As demonstrated in the video, I flipped the polarity of one of the voice coils to test signal balance and there was absolutely no movement of the woofer with the test tone so I should be good to go.

Again, sound systems are very subjective. In my youth, I would have gone bigger and louder (In my my younger days I had a 10 speaker setup in my 1990 Miata with 4 RF amps and 2 tactile transducers in a futile attempt create a decent sound stage in a drop top tin can). Some people love earth-shaking, jack-hammering bass. If you are that type - this is NOT the setup for you. In fact, if you are looking for that don't even bother converting the storage bin into an enclosure - you would never be happy with the result.

Best,

Ed

 

[Zaph]

Looks good. You could also laminate another layer of baffle material on the inside for rigidity, just inside where the lip is. Then you won't lose your nice carpet surface on the outside.

 

[sirgeorgee]

Hello good folks! hope this thread hasn't died yet. im looking at doing this but out of fiberglass, using the exterior of the bin as the mold. but i have also thought about having the sub fire out the side, towards the passenger seat by cutting int he the aluminum. 99% of the time i drive alone, and 1% with my girlfriend as passenger. so the side firing sub would allow for max excursion - planned sub is the Digital Design 608 redline (8in sub) .

 

[theanswer3]

There are a few 10" subs designed and engineered to work well in extremely small enclosures like the Focal Sub P 25 FSE (.28 cu ft), the JL 10TW1 (.35 cu ft), one of the older Memphis Audio shallow Reference series (.35 cu ft), Dayton Audio LS10-44 (.45 cu ft), etc.

Also the kicker solo baric 46L7T102 is a thin mount solobaric that fits perfect and loves that space.

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