Subwoofers in my convertible
10-08-2002, 02:30 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Lawrence, Kansas
Posts: 33
Subwoofers in my convertible
I have a '99 Z28 convertible and want to put subs in it. The only place they can possibly go are where the two rear seat speakers are now. Does anyone have any ideas how this can be done?
10-08-2002, 04:05 PM
#2
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Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: All around
Posts: 2,154
You probably feel like me, in that the trunk space sucks, and you dont want to give up ANY of it. Here's the scoop so far:
You cannot fit a LOT of types of 6.5's in the rear sailpanels because the top is there and the depth needs to be so low. Also dont even think of getting good midbass, as you couldnt seal it if you wanted to. I wouldnt run many watts back there.
Doors - you could go nuts. You could get a set of kickpanels too.
Put a bass tube between the seats. I opted not because it screamed "steal me!" and I couldnt make it actually look like an armrest that belonged there.
With the top down, anything in the trunk will be muffled a bit.
With the top up, the response will be good, but still suck compared to a coupe car.
You could replace the rear "midget" seats with mini sub boxes and even fabric them to look like the real seats, but they'd still look funny.
Or you put subs in the trunk. It's tough. You could ditch the spare as well, but otherwise, no stealthbox will work with that freakin huge top pump where it is. Personally, I just havent touched my sound system till I come up with something that wont do anything, and I stop buying stuff to make it faster, which may happen this winter, but probably not.
My thoughts:
Components for kick pods - a solid 6.5" mid driver or mini sub with tweeters in A-pillars.
Then 6.5 mid bass in the doors or another 6.5 "sub"
and then 6.5's for the rear. Dont want to use my trunk or anything. It's hard, but I came to conclusion that there really is no way to do it aside from a $500 job to custom doors or give up seats or trunk space.
I'll eventually replace the rear seat bottoms with subs once the roll cage (4pt or 6pt) goes in. At 138,000 miles, my chassis is toooo flexible. Get some sub frame connectors and a strut tower brace (3pt) now if you havent. Worry about sound later. Your car will thank you by lasting longer and riding much better later on.
You cannot fit a LOT of types of 6.5's in the rear sailpanels because the top is there and the depth needs to be so low. Also dont even think of getting good midbass, as you couldnt seal it if you wanted to. I wouldnt run many watts back there.
Doors - you could go nuts. You could get a set of kickpanels too.
Put a bass tube between the seats. I opted not because it screamed "steal me!" and I couldnt make it actually look like an armrest that belonged there.
With the top down, anything in the trunk will be muffled a bit.
With the top up, the response will be good, but still suck compared to a coupe car.
You could replace the rear "midget" seats with mini sub boxes and even fabric them to look like the real seats, but they'd still look funny.
Or you put subs in the trunk. It's tough. You could ditch the spare as well, but otherwise, no stealthbox will work with that freakin huge top pump where it is. Personally, I just havent touched my sound system till I come up with something that wont do anything, and I stop buying stuff to make it faster, which may happen this winter, but probably not.
My thoughts:
Components for kick pods - a solid 6.5" mid driver or mini sub with tweeters in A-pillars.
Then 6.5 mid bass in the doors or another 6.5 "sub"
and then 6.5's for the rear. Dont want to use my trunk or anything. It's hard, but I came to conclusion that there really is no way to do it aside from a $500 job to custom doors or give up seats or trunk space.
I'll eventually replace the rear seat bottoms with subs once the roll cage (4pt or 6pt) goes in. At 138,000 miles, my chassis is toooo flexible. Get some sub frame connectors and a strut tower brace (3pt) now if you havent. Worry about sound later. Your car will thank you by lasting longer and riding much better later on.
10-08-2002, 04:29 PM
#3
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Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Winnipeg
Posts: 438
I threw a pair of Infinity 1220W's in the trunk. I sacrificed trunk space, but I never use it anyways. That's what the back seats are for 
The damn tops inflates with bass when it's down, which really drives me nuts. I think I may seal off the trunk all together, once I get the components in. You could quite easily fit 8"'s in the doors, obvioously with some modification. Get something similar to Kicker Free Air's, or something that is efficient in a free air config. If you want to get really fancy (And totally satisfied), take out the back seats, get a tonneau cover from RK Sport, and hide your subs where the back seats used to be. Best SQ and SPL top up or down.
The damn tops inflates with bass when it's down, which really drives me nuts. I think I may seal off the trunk all together, once I get the components in. You could quite easily fit 8"'s in the doors, obvioously with some modification. Get something similar to Kicker Free Air's, or something that is efficient in a free air config. If you want to get really fancy (And totally satisfied), take out the back seats, get a tonneau cover from RK Sport, and hide your subs where the back seats used to be. Best SQ and SPL top up or down.
10-08-2002, 08:38 PM
#5
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Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Posts: 8
In my 1989 Convertible, I am faced with the same problem. I opted for an Infinity Basslink (10" Sub/10" Passive Radiator and built in 200W RMS amp) in the trunk. I have seen them placed where the spare goes so no trunk space is sacrificed.
I took my convertible last summer for a 4 day stay at the beach and easily fit my backpack and 1 piece of luggage in the trunk with the Basslink (it could also be easily removed in a pinch if I needed the extra space).
The bass does sound better with the top up, but you could still hear the bass going 75MPH down the highway with the top down. Not knock out bass, but still sounded good.
I took my convertible last summer for a 4 day stay at the beach and easily fit my backpack and 1 piece of luggage in the trunk with the Basslink (it could also be easily removed in a pinch if I needed the extra space).
The bass does sound better with the top up, but you could still hear the bass going 75MPH down the highway with the top down. Not knock out bass, but still sounded good.
10-08-2002, 08:51 PM
#6
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Connersville, Indiana, USA
Posts: 440
Originally posted by x7x7
I would talk to megabass about making you a custom box to replace the rear seats. The rear seats are the best place for a box in a vert.
I would talk to megabass about making you a custom box to replace the rear seats. The rear seats are the best place for a box in a vert.
I also have a design that fits down in the well so it's flush where it leads to the rear quarters. If you put a grill over the sub or subs you could still pile your stuff on top of it and maintain some of the trunk space. Just a thought.
10-16-2002, 08:48 PM
#7
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Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: Louisville
Posts: 47
I had a 1995 Camaro Convertable, I had a custom box made for 2 Infinity Beta 15" subs...
They sounded GREAT when the top was up, the bass rattled my brain it was sooooo loud. Here is a picture of the box in the trunk.
http://home.insightbb.com/~freakytigger/beta.jpg
Once the top was put down you could hardly even hear the bass, I couldn't believe the top could muffle those 15's like it did. I was in shock, after a long long uphill battle I finally had a custom box for another beta 15 for the seat behind the drivers seat, I officially had a 3 seater and holy crap was it loud.
I never had any problems, I ran 4 infinity coaxial 6.5i speakers in my doors. My biggest mistake was putting the 6.5's in the front. They sounded horrible, I should have gone components. The floor is the worst place to have a tweeter. My rear speakers were actually alot louder than the fronts to me. They sounded pretty good in my eyes. I really don't have experience listening to custom audio in other cars so I couldn't really tell you if the midbass was good because I have little to compare it to.
They sounded GREAT when the top was up, the bass rattled my brain it was sooooo loud. Here is a picture of the box in the trunk.
http://home.insightbb.com/~freakytigger/beta.jpg
Once the top was put down you could hardly even hear the bass, I couldn't believe the top could muffle those 15's like it did. I was in shock, after a long long uphill battle I finally had a custom box for another beta 15 for the seat behind the drivers seat, I officially had a 3 seater and holy crap was it loud.
I never had any problems, I ran 4 infinity coaxial 6.5i speakers in my doors. My biggest mistake was putting the 6.5's in the front. They sounded horrible, I should have gone components. The floor is the worst place to have a tweeter. My rear speakers were actually alot louder than the fronts to me. They sounded pretty good in my eyes. I really don't have experience listening to custom audio in other cars so I couldn't really tell you if the midbass was good because I have little to compare it to.
03-08-2003, 09:49 AM
#9
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 731
Top Down Bass
I'm going to try a new approach to this top down bass problem. My answer....FLEXIBLE ELECTRICAL CONDUIT. It's the stuff they run electical cable through outdoors, and in a lot of homes into the main breaker box. I'm working on a scheme to run SEVERAL sections of this tubing from the trunk next to my 12's around the back glass(with top down) and route it to the tops of the rear seats. The MAIN thing about doing this is that the glass can't be obstructed from going down, but as long as you run the tubes on either side of the glass...it won't matter if the canvas pushes down on them some. Right now my car is in the shop getting a new coat of paint after I did the LS1 front end conversion...once I get it back though...I'm gonna start fooling around with this idea and see what I can come up with. Wish me luck!
-Mike
-Mike
03-08-2003, 11:23 AM
#11
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 731
nope, it shouldn't. I'm going to route them around any obstruction because they are flexible. And another thing...I'm not talking about one big tube here...I'm talking like 4-6 1-1.5 inch tubes laid flat. That shouldn't really affect much in the way of clearance(as long as I stay clear of the glass area). That will give the effect of some actual space between the downed top and the frame without there really being such.
Now...I'm not saying this is going to just totally make ALL the difference in the world and make bass with the top down just in-freakin-credible...I'm just thinking this would be a step in the right direction. I'm just thinking of ways to open up the trunk "stealthfully" to the passenger compartment. Also...I want to accomplish this with the least amount of tubing so as to have the least amount of sound degredation. I'm all about sound quality. Shoot...if I do this...and it makes the sound muddy or crappy in any way...then I'll scratch the whole thing! I've got other ideas on how to put some space between that top and the frame, but this way seemed to be the most practical right now at least. We'll see.
Now...I'm not saying this is going to just totally make ALL the difference in the world and make bass with the top down just in-freakin-credible...I'm just thinking this would be a step in the right direction. I'm just thinking of ways to open up the trunk "stealthfully" to the passenger compartment. Also...I want to accomplish this with the least amount of tubing so as to have the least amount of sound degredation. I'm all about sound quality. Shoot...if I do this...and it makes the sound muddy or crappy in any way...then I'll scratch the whole thing! I've got other ideas on how to put some space between that top and the frame, but this way seemed to be the most practical right now at least. We'll see.
03-08-2003, 11:53 AM
#12
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Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Winnipeg
Posts: 438
I don't think it will really have any effect on SPL or SQ. What you may end up with is a tuned bandpass box, and selectively eliminate certain frequencies. So in effect, you may reduce SQ. That's assuming it does anything at all
03-08-2003, 04:17 PM
#13
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 731
yeah...I thought of the tuning aspect of the "ports" as well. That's why I was thinking more on along the lines of quantity of the tubes so they would flow more air essencially making it just an opening rather that ports. I didn't major in fluid mechanics, so I'm not sure how effective it'll be. And if that doesn't work...I'm going to devise a space between the retracted soft top and the frame. Don't ask how...at least not yet. I'm just actively trying to remedy the convertible dilema. Anyone else got any suggestions? I'll try combinations of things too...trial and error, baby!
-Mike
-Mike
01-10-2015, 05:13 AM
#14
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Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 1
Re: Subwoofers in my convertible
***** My Ride ***** LX Convertible blah, blah is the best convertible car seat for kids-link edited known to me so far.It is a machine-washable cover.Its metal and plastic parts can be washed with mild soap and water, while the buckle and harness strap clean up quickly with a damp cloth.. I am having it from a long time .. Overall , I love the product , my daughter seem to be very comfortable & it is extremely easy to use and install..
Last edited by Injuneer; 01-11-2015 at 11:33 AM. Reason: Pakistani spammer
01-11-2015, 11:34 AM
#15
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Re: Subwoofers in my convertible
***** My Ride ***** LX Convertible blah, blah is the best convertible car seat for kids-link edited known to me so far.It is a machine-washable cover.Its metal and plastic parts can be washed with mild soap and water, while the buckle and harness strap clean up quickly with a damp cloth.. I am having it from a long time .. Overall , I love the product , my daughter seem to be very comfortable & it is extremely easy to use and install..