So, here I am about to get started on my trunk sub enclosure. I'll be doing the same layout at this thread

http://www.ca.dsm.org/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=337695#Post337695

I don't currently have a 10" that I'm willing to pull out of another box so this leaves me open to options.
What are you running that fits this category and/or what do you have experience with/recommend.

Specs that it must fit are as follows:
Power handling(W) - RMS 650@2ohm or 375@4ohm, 850 peak
(have a planetaudio VX900D that has served me well over the years)
http://www.planetaudiousa.com/suppo...p;_a=viewdownload&downloaditemid=235

Enclosure Volume - ~36L (1.27ft^3) --> ~55L (1.94ft^3)
This is the approximate volume of the lassenger side trunk panel indent. Just measured it by willing with water.
Price - UNDER the $200 mark

Lets see what you've got!

You should check out MTX they are a great sub and reasonably priced. I have used them for years with a Rockford power 1000 amp they always stood up no matter what I threw at them.

I was eyeballing a couple Thunder 6000s. The DVC of course.

I have 1 10" thunder 6000 at the moment it is a great sub ported or sealed it has enough ummmff (properly amped) that is and it looks like your amp can handle it. I personally would over power a sub then under power it(if it is quaility sub that is). There are alot better subs but for the price i dont think you can beat them.

I got a infinity kappa series.
sounds great and its not too pricey.

Right now I think I'm looking at Kicker CompVR, MTX TR5510-44, or the JL 10w3v3.

Found some in the area and the price is looking about right.
The Kappa series was a little out of my price range.


http://files.mitekusa.com/pmsys/F09091516163900371c.pdf

Johnny, the sub I used was a JL 10w3v3. It sounds great! But, I'm partial to JLs

My buddy had a pair of comp CVs (step down from the CR) and they sounded fantastic. My only issue with the JL is the price... :S

I picked up a spare panel and I'm using it as my mould out of the car. Should be MUCH easier

Yes, I at the time when I did mine, I didn't know the panel was that easy to remove.

I might even pick up a spare one from a wrecker to do a few more. I can get the resin and mat for free, just need time to get er done.

What car are you making the sub enclosure for? The Spyder or the Eclipse?

I'm on the hunt today for some less expensive resin. But the first layer went on almost without a hitch. Forgot to switch cups on the second batch of resin and she went goopy-rock hard in a matter of seconds. So once it's completely dry, I'm going to sand down some of the imperfections and get started on the next 4-5 layers. Looking great thus far though

Also, it really helped to screw the panel on to a wood table. Shim the back of the panel and you now have a solid working surface.

Mark, this is for the GSX. I have 2 10" box that fits in the trunk of the spyder quite nicely if I plan to go that route.

Yep, I went through quite a few cups. If you can't get everything out of a cup, toss it and start a new one.

yup, didn't do that the first time. lol

For those who are curious, I managed to pick up a 2012 Infinity Kappa BNIB for $100.
It's a pretty sweet sub, esp with the built in 2 or 4 ohm switch. Now to finish the enclosure!
http://us.infinitysystems.com/product-detail-11657/kappa-1009w.html

btw, enclosure build updates will be posted in this thread:
http://www.ca.dsm.org/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=386394#Post386394

could you uhhhh make an extra one of those closures while you're at it?

When mine is done I'll see what I can do. Of course, Will have to see how it turns out but so far it's looking pretty good. Still need a couple more layres on the inside, then mount the subwoofer bezel and lastly glass the front.

I do need to source a another place to get resin from.... I'm looking to be close to $100 in material alone on this one :S I'll take some pictures tonight.
Oh, and my sub is pretty damn big....

I was just going to say, you best be taking pictures! I am curious to see how the build process looks.

The backing of the sub enclosure is complete. I wanted to get the bezel and rods cut to length as well but ran into a lot of hickups with my 4 channel amp last night. Just didn't want to pump out sound. :S
So here's where I am. Keep in mind since the picture of the back, there have been 2 - 4 more layers of fibreglass placed.
The key is to sand out all the not to smooth spots between layers. That's how I eliminated the possibility of air pockets in the shell, along with being diligent while laying the mats.
All the white lines are where I sanded down the excess strands to make a smooth surface


With the speaker connections, I decided to make it modular so I could easily switch between the head unit or the amp, but looking back through some wiring diagrams, this seemed to be pretty pointless so I'll be undoing all of that tonight and simply wiring up the amp line outs to the factory amplifier lead.

that'll look great in my car when done

Yeah Johnny, looking good so far. Are those interior pieces just spares? What did you put on them, tape and tinfoil?

Yes, I picked up a spare trunk piece to make this enclosure. It makes the whole process much easier. I would never do this in the car again just because of A) The tight space and B) the mess you'll make, and lastly C)The time it takes.

Also, after the first 2 layres were hardened, I removed the enclosure from the panel just to make sure it came out ok, and then continued to lay more fiber glass with the enclosure on it's back. Much easier to work with as you're never trying to fight against gravity.

To prepare the panel, I first used tape, and then put a layer of tin foil over that to make sure no resin leaked through on to the panel as I can imagine some "friends" might want the same setup.
The tape was the solid seal, but as Andrew Trapp mentioned in his build thread, if you only use the tape it becomes incrediably sticky after the hardener cures and you then risk cracking the enclosure trying to get it off of the panel. The tin foil peels off fairly easily once removed.

Do you need to smooth out the surface in and out? Sanding?

You make it sound easy enough to try it myself but I would definitely do it the way you are, by working with a spare panel. Hence, finding one first

When do we get to see more?

Right MEOW!
The outside doesn't need to be sanded at all. Mine turned out smooth all over because I took my time laying the first layer on the tin foil. Anyway, you wouldn't have to/want to sand/add to the outside as that's why you used the panel as a mould. You change the outer shape, then it won't fit again.
The inside was only sanded smooth/flat to ensure there are no air pockets in the enclosure, and if you're going to do something do it right!

No updates on the enclosure itself tonight, but the amp rack is pretty much completed and installed.

I lined up where I wanted the components placed, then tapped mounting holes. The capacitor needed to be sunk because it sat higher then 2.5", which was my cap height to keep the upper trunk board in line with the cross brace.

As such.

And finally, all installed with the remainder of my new trunk floor


The trunk floor board sits on top of that. I still need to install the sprung hinges so it will open and stay open until closed. I might paint the whole rack in the future.

All I require is to run a new power line from the battery because this one is about 4" too short. FRACK! That or install splitters for power, ground and remote, which come to think of it might be a better option then re running the damn wire.... Then all that's left is to complete/install the sub

Oh, btw, I scrapped the Serial port swaping idea for alternating between sound sources (amp vs. headunit) The wires were too thick thus preventing the terminals to be installed correctly. Cool idea, and I'm sure if I got some other terminals, it might of worked out. I just hardwired the amp outs into the stock amp harness under the pax seat.

Super curious as to what it will look like when it's all done! Looking really good and really clean so far!

Trimmed up the fibreglass tonight, test fitted it and forgot to take pictures.
It fits a little snug as is and I haven't added the fleece yet. Some trimming to the amp rack will have to be done, but just the slightest bit.
Another idea... As you can see, both amps have holes in the top. The Planet Audio emblem usually goes there but me in my infinite wisdom forgot to account for the emblem thickness when I did all of my measurements. So I was thinking that it might be cool sh!t to cut out little "windows" in the trunk floor board so you can see the emblems and the capacitor voltage. Only issue I forsee is getting the proper alignment and cutting the shape flawlessly.... Ideas on an easy way to do this? The emblems are curved so it's a bit more difficult then you might think.

I would just do what people do when they are doing hood pins. Put something in the centre of the emblem that will make a mark when you put the top on. Then just use a hole drill that's the size of the emblem. You should see if you can get some JL emblems, have your initials all over the audio equipment

I tried doing that but then the issue is getting the emblem itself cut and drawn perfectly. Because it's curved, I'll only get the highest point of the emblem and it's not complex by any means but still difficult to get the shape right.
The hood pin method works for hood pins because you only need to drill a hole

I thought about JL stuff but I've always had this planet audio equipment and it is pretty solid. JL is a bit out of my price range as well I'm a cheap ass some times...

Yeah but if the hole saw is the same diameter as the emblem it shouldn't be an issue.

That's true... and come to think of it, part of the symbol doesn't even touch that floor board because it's curved back too much. ok. cool.

Been lacking on the progress lately.
The Sub bezel has been suspended and the box has been fleeced. All that remains is a whack ton of resin and we should be off to the races!


I put in 6 supports for the sub because it has some substantial weight. As you can see there is plenty of room in the rear. I'm estimating this enclosure will be around the 40L mark when completed.

Now for the fleece. The trick is to do one side at a time. I started with the most rearward (when in the car) edge as it was perfectly straight and gave a large enough mounting surface.
I roughed up the edges and about 1.5-2" back to help with the adhesion. The rear of the enclosure is relatively smooth upon completion, so to ensure your fleece will stick you need to rough it up a bit. I used 3M Super 77 Spray Adhesive. Make sure you spray the enclosure and not the fabric! The fabric will stick together and then becomes difficult to work with.


After the first edge was good and stuck, I sprayed the sub bezel and streched the fabric out and over that, then proceeded to the bottom (another straight flat edge)


Once the fleece is secured along the edge, I either trimmed the excess or in the case of the top, sprayed it further down and secured the remainder of the fleece. My thoughts on this is it will be used to act as a buffer against the car trim, hopefully reducing any rattle. It won't be covered in resin so if it doesn't work out, I'll just cut it off.



Working around, the curviest side was saved for last as it would be easier to make sure everything is flat and crease free. Started at the top and slowly worked my way down.

And lastly, the final product!



To secure the fleece inside of the sub bezel, I simply cut the center fleece into 6 pieces within an inch of the bezel edge, then sprayed the bezel with 3M, slowly worked the fleece around the edges, and when flat insert the piece cut from the center to ensure the fleece stays where it's been glued.

I am alittle confused. Is the only thing covering the front and top Fleece?

Looks good Johnny!! What are you going to do after all the Resin is hardened? Paint?

It hasn't been resined yet. The fleece is used to create a fluid shape on the front of the enclosure. I put a little extra material to add a soft surface which will lay between the trunk panel and the enclosure to dampen any tapping/rattling noises. It will soak up a lot of resin and take the place of a couple layers of fiberglass. I'll put the sub in there once it's hardened and determine whether or not I need to add a couple more layers of fiberglass.
I'm not sure yet on how I'm going to finish it. Whether it be automotive carpet or paint. Time will tell.

how many hours do you think you have in it at this point?

can't wait to see the finish product

More importantly, curious to know how many of those hours are on the clock at work

Not including time to let the resin set, about 5.5 hours so far. Mind you, I would do about 2 layers of glass and then let it set for about 18 hours before proceeding on to the next set.



About 5.5

That's not bad at all! I figured at least 10-15 hrs. you're very effecient!

lol rob - how about, how many hrs do i spend on the ubb while at work??

Probably enough that your sales suck ass

'tis a slow time of year, so that's why i'm here, looking to spread some holiday cheer!

Oh! Now i get it. Sorry i was looking at it and wondering if you were building a big blue free air enclosure.

Looks goood so far though!

HAHA, was wondering if Johnny was colour blind myself lol

pick up a jl w7. Ive owned alot of different subs in my day and those perform great. i have some sick hertz hx 250s for sale 3 of them to be exact hahah