Custom Sub Box

mfennema · April 27, 2010

I decided that I wanted a little more thump in my truck after adding the Infinity References in the doors a couple of months ago. After I got my tax check back I decided that I could spare a little bit of cash to go at this project and try to fit a sub and amp in the console because I didn't want it taking up any floor space anywhere in the truck. Another requirement was that I didn't want to have to make modifications that weren't reversible.

After taking some measurements I decided that I was going to go with an 8" Kicker Solo Baric L5 square sub because I couldn't fit a 10" with the amount of cubic feet I was going to need. I also decided that the Kicker 10ZX300.1 was sized perfectly for the sub and originally I thought it would fit perfectly without having to make any modifications to the console (I shoudla measured twice).

I finally received everything from sonicelectronix.com and set off to work. I first made a box that fit in the console with the amp pointing down toward the floor but I noticed that this was taking up a lot of space that could be used for cubic feet in the box and a buddy of mine had an idea. He asked me why I don't just point it up and put a piece of plexiglass over the top of it. After doing a little bit of trimming in the box and covering the top of the box with vinyl I assembled it all together and put it in the truck.

Once I did this, I noticed that the amp was too big to fit with the console bezel that I have because the bezel goes all the way to the floor. After finding the part number for another one that fits, I decided that I didn't want to pay that much for the part, so I cut about 3 inches off of the one I had and siliconed a piece of plexiglass on the bottom to enclose it.

The amp that I bought comes with a remote bass control knob so I decided that I should put that in the upper console since there really isn't anything up there anyways. Also, I put in a switch so that I could turn the amp off if I didn't want it on while I was driving.

So far, it sounds terrific and you can't even see it...unless you open the lid. Check out the pics and let me know what you think!

rbiggers277 · April 27, 2010

Wow, that is awesome! Great idea and good job doing it yourself!

mfennema · April 27, 2010

Thanks!

jfm1982 · April 27, 2010

Thats freaking awesome ! I wish I could build something like that.

mfennema · April 28, 2010

Thanks! It wasn't really too difficult. Just takes some time and patience and a little problem solving....ok a lot of problem solving haha. And it was relatively in expensive.

quicksilverc5 · April 30, 2010

That looks great. So is the top of the sub sealed so as not to vibrate everything? is it ported into the console area? Thought of doing something similar with my DVC JL Audio 6.5 that I have.

Also you must be an engineer.....go boilermakers?

mfennema · May 13, 2010

Hey, sorry for the late reply. The entire sub box is sealed, there wasn't enough room to port it into the console. The plexi on top of the sub is just to keep stuff out of the sub so I can still put some things in the console to store them....coozies....playing cards...things like that which won't rattle. The plexi is fitted pretty tight in there, but its not sealed off, and I think I may actually cut a little bit off around it so that there is more room for the sub to breathe. Its trying to push a lot of air past the plexi in a couple places and I am afraid that this back pressure is going to hurt the sub in the long run.

Oh and yeah I'm and engineer....BOILER UP!