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Thread: Mounting a subwoofer under passenger seat

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    Mounting a subwoofer under passenger seat

    Has anyone done this?


    I'm looking at adding a small sub to the car, but I do not want to take up any cargo area. I thought about fiberglassing a sub enclosure to go in the spare tire well along with the spare tire, but that would be pretty complicated, and I have no fiberglass experience.

    So, there is a lot of room under the passenger seat. It looks like I could get 0.35 cubic foot out of a box under there. Has anyone done this before? What did you go with?

    Dual 6 1/2" subs?

    Dual 8" subs?

    Single 10" sub?


    I'm not looking for window rattling bass, just something to fill out the missing low end.


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    I've already got the amp to power whatever sub I get. It is powerful, so I can run just about whatever sub I want. It's a JL Audio JX250/1 that is rated at 175 watts RMS @ 4 ohms, or 250 watts RMS @ 2 ohms. More than enough power for a single 10" or smaller sub mainly used for sound quality. Now I just have to figure out what sub to go with...........
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    Senior Member Ares's Avatar
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    Don't think there's enough space there for dual setup. Maybe a single 8, single 10 is pushing it imo.

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    Quote Originally Posted by MysticMirage View Post
    It does not list the depth of the sub. That is VERY important. I have taken rough measurements of available space, and if I build the box to go around the legs of the seat then I could build it about 15" wide, 11" front to back, and about 4" tall. This limits the number of subs I could go with. There is a possibility I could build up the top of the box so the sub would actually be above the bottom of the seat since the seat is hollow, and there is a lot of room in there. Once I get this cast off I'll start building the box.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ares View Post
    Don't think there's enough space there for dual setup. Maybe a single 8, single 10 is pushing it imo.

    A single 10" would BARELY fit, but it would also be working with only 0.4 cubic foot of air space, which is not much at all. If I staggered the subs, dual 8" subs MIGHT fit, maybe. But if I went with dual 8" subs they would only have 0.2 cubic foot of air space each.

    Several years ago, when I competed as an amateur in car audio sound quality competition, I only had a single 8" sub mounted in a 0.2 cubic foot box behind my center console and a set of 6 1/2" components. It sounded VERY clean and surprised many judges with a total system wattage of 44 watts(was running a 22 X 2 amp in tri mode). Technology has made a lot of progress in 15 years and subs can work better now in smaller boxes than what they could then when about your only choice was a Kicker Solobaric.
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    Senior Member Charlie's Avatar
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    91cavgt - I was SERIOUSLY considering something like this for my car, and like you, was not looking for big bass, just to get definite low end not attainable with our stock speakers:

    http://www.crutchfield.com/p_091IBUS...9184705&awdv=c

    It may fit the bill. Don't have to get that one of course, but if something of that form factor appeals to your needs, just look up some more 'Powered Car Subwoofers'

    Keep us updated on your choice.

    -Charlie-

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    Quote Originally Posted by Charlie View Post
    91cavgt - I was SERIOUSLY considering something like this for my car, and like you, was not looking for big bass, just to get definite low end not attainable with our stock speakers:

    http://www.crutchfield.com/p_091IBUS...9184705&awdv=c

    It may fit the bill. Don't have to get that one of course, but if something of that form factor appeals to your needs, just look up some more 'Powered Car Subwoofers'

    Keep us updated on your choice.

    -Charlie-

    Charlie,

    That sub would actually probably fit! However, it is outside of my budget. I've been building subwoofer boxes since I was in high school (20 years ago) so I'm pretty sure I can make one that can't be removed from the car without either damaging the box, or removing the seat.

    I've been looking at several subs, but it primarily depends on how good of a deal I can get on one. In the past, I have discovered that even a moderate quality sub will absolutely pound and sound great, if installed in a well built box. I've experimented with sealed, ported, and bandpass enclosures(before bandpass boxes were commercially available in '99) but my favorite for accurate sound is a sealed box.

    I already have a LOT of 4 gauge power wire, 20' of 8 gauge wire, 100 amp MEGA fuse holders, a 200' spool of 14 gauge speaker wire, about 75' of 12 gauge speaker wire, plenty of crimp connectors (from 2 gauge all the way down to 20 gauge), and all kinds of other trinkets. I plan on installing a 400 watt continuous power inverter next to the amp and run some wire to the back of the car so I can power a 12 volt air compressor as well.

    I'm still trying to decide what route to go though. Single 10", dual 8" (would be a bit tricky to install), or even a paid of high excursion 6 1/2" subs.
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    Senior Member Charlie's Avatar
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    @ 91cavgt:

    Dang, I guess you are definitely the go-to sound guy for here on the forum!!

    I was looking through Crutchfield's inventory for powered subwoofers, they have the same form factor you saw but for as low as $200.

    I definitely did not want something that would take up any space as our cars are not exactly huge, so something that would install under the front seat was highly appealing.

    If you do manage to rig up your own box under the seat, would love to see a DIY post for that particular install.

    Good luck!

    -Charlie-

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    Watching this thread with enthusiasm. I certainly plan to add my own thump to the Mirage very soon.



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