• Sign Up! To view all forums and unlock additional cool features

    Welcome to the #1 Explorer ST Forum and Explorer ST community dedicated to Explorer ST owners and enthusiasts. Register for an account, it's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the Explorer ST Forum today!


13" sub in factory location and rest of stereo upgrade

Messages
51
Reactions
10
Points
7
Location
IL
#21
quick question, in one of the above posts you mentioned that you need .6cuft for the sub after install. assuming you are using a JL TW5v3 sub. the internal box requirements are .8 cuft and the displacement of the driver is .052, so you should be somewhere in the .75 cuft range total after sub installed. are you still over using that math?
 

OP
C

Cruising68

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,393
Reactions
1,033
Points
262
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Thread Starter #22
quick question, in one of the above posts you mentioned that you need .6cuft for the sub after install. assuming you are using a JL TW5v3 sub. the internal box requirements are .8 cuft and the displacement of the driver is .052, so you should be somewhere in the .75 cuft range total after sub installed. are you still over using that math?
Typo up there. The specs say .8cuft PLUS the displacement of the driver. According to their sealed box specification the enclosure has 1,477 cubic inches before installing the driver so that is the spec I am using for total volume.

I also changed my mind again. Instead of building a box to put inside, I cut the bottom off completely. I filled the bottom with the water that was over the speaker spec and drew a sharpie all the way around and got busty with the sawzall. The base had about 1" of epoxy total and it weight about 10 pounds so I lopped it off and used fleece to re-build the bottom.

I love cutting up things you thought were done :)
 

UNBROKEN

4000 Post Club
Messages
4,249
Reactions
4,958
Points
352
Location
Houston, TX, USA
#23
You would have been fine that little bit over. Would have had a little better low end extension.
 

OP
C

Cruising68

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,393
Reactions
1,033
Points
262
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Thread Starter #24
You would have been fine that little bit over. Would have had a little better low end extension.
Really? I was 24% over sized and thought that was way too much. I was worried about being too big to not properly limit cone travel. I could have lived with 10% but I just thought a quarter oversized was just too much.

Besides, I love working with fiberglass........NOT. I even prematurely told my wife I was done creating dust in the garage. So much for that.
 

OP
C

Cruising68

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,393
Reactions
1,033
Points
262
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Thread Starter #25
Finished the enclosure minus mounting the sub. Also decided to ditch the spare tire. I am building a box for my amps in the spare tire well and hopefully building a lockable storage box above the amps. Large enough for the apocalypse :) I was contemplating leaving the third row out and building a big box for everything keeping the spare. Then I thought about how many times I have changed a tire on the road in the past 40 years......ZERO. I figure that will ensure I get a flat on my next road trip.

Sub7.jpg

Box.jpg
 

Last edited:
OP
C

Cruising68

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,393
Reactions
1,033
Points
262
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Thread Starter #26
Finished the sub and enclosure tonight. Started working on the enclosed amp rack for the bottom of the spare tire well. Haven't quite figured out the ducting yet but that has always been my mode. What fun would it be if I designed it all on CAD and just cut the pieces lol. My way I can do things over for twice the fun :)

Sub8.jpg

Amps1.jpg
 

Messages
51
Reactions
10
Points
7
Location
IL
#27
its starting to come together. how are are going to modify the panel that fits over the sub? looking forward to hearing it.
 

UNBROKEN

4000 Post Club
Messages
4,249
Reactions
4,958
Points
352
Location
Houston, TX, USA
#28
its starting to come together. how are are going to modify the panel that fits over the sub? looking forward to hearing it.
He really doesn’t need to. Part of that side panel is already vented and that thin plastic won’t stop anything anyway. Panel vibrations are all he needs to worry about. Kill those and it’ll be solid.
 

OP
C

Cruising68

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,393
Reactions
1,033
Points
262
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Thread Starter #29
its starting to come together. how are are going to modify the panel that fits over the sub? looking forward to hearing it.
Slowly but surely. The panel is not great but not horrible either. I will take a pic later. I have trimmed the panel to within an inch of final trim. The cutout pretty much goes from the bottom of the trim panel to as high as you can go before you get into the angle towards the window. Once I install the sub permanently I will do final trimming. The enclosure sticks out about an inch from the panel final position so I will likely try the SEM @UNBROKEN used to texture part of the enclosure then I will need to find some type of trim piece to go around the trim panel so it looks normal instead of a lousy plastic edge. That and some closed cell foam where the panel meets the enclosure.

I also ripped apart the amp rack and started over. I finally figured out my venting airflow and I decided to stack the amps towards the rear of the car and ventalate accross the amps. All the hot stuff goes towards, amps and solid state relay so it stays cool and cabling and the fan controller will go in the other half. Might even have a small storage area in the bottom section if I have enough room.

@UNBROKEN , I do like that the very back is vented to the outside on both sides. Thats why I moved everything to the back so I will just have one air channel on the left and one on the right. Hoping because it vents behind the trim panel means that I won't hear the fans.....ever. I'm putting in 4 120mm Noctua computer fans on a controller and I can't imagine ever needing them to run full speed but you never know until you seal everything up.
 

OP
C

Cruising68

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,393
Reactions
1,033
Points
262
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Thread Starter #30
Here's a pic of the trim panel sitting on a pile of junk. Also included a pic with the new amp rack design. Air will be coming in and out the two panels left and right of center. Of course I ran out of ground wire by about 5 inches.

Panel.jpg

Amp rACK.jpg
 

Messages
158
Reactions
67
Points
27
Location
Houston, TX, USA
#31
You wont have any issues with the Notuas even running full blast you will never hear them. I have four in my PC which sits ~3' from me, when I crank them to 11 they are very hard to hear.
 

OP
C

Cruising68

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,393
Reactions
1,033
Points
262
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Thread Starter #32
You wont have any issues with the Notuas even running full blast you will never hear them. I have four in my PC which sits ~3' from me, when I crank them to 11 they are very hard to hear.
Yeah, they've been my go to computer fans for a while. I remember the first time I fired one up. I couldn't believe how quiet they were for the airflow.
 

Messages
51
Reactions
10
Points
7
Location
IL
#33
He really doesn’t need to. Part of that side panel is already vented and that thin plastic won’t stop anything anyway. Panel vibrations are all he needs to worry about. Kill those and it’ll be solid.
Unbroken, I wasn't sure if the sub was going to be behind the panel or through it like he is showing. I was thinking if I did something like this that I would router out a shape for the grill out of wood, screw the panel straight to the enclosure once isolated and then use magnets to hold on the grill. clean and will hide any of the panel that was rough cut or misshapen....Just a concept really...LOL
 

OP
C

Cruising68

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,393
Reactions
1,033
Points
262
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Thread Starter #34
Unbroken, I wasn't sure if the sub was going to be behind the panel or through it like he is showing. I was thinking if I did something like this that I would router out a shape for the grill out of wood, screw the panel straight to the enclosure once isolated and then use magnets to hold on the grill. clean and will hide any of the panel that was rough cut or misshapen....Just a concept really...LOL
I looked into the sub behind the panel. The problem is the the hole in the panel is just way too small.

I think that's where I will end up. I am not finding any type of trim pieces that I could use around the panel. Will probably have to visit a friend with a routing table and just make something out of wood then treat it to look however I want.
 

OP
C

Cruising68

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,393
Reactions
1,033
Points
262
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Thread Starter #35
Finished up the power, fans, and fan controller. Now for rca's and speaker wire. Trying to get all the ancillary stuff done so when I pull the trigger I'm only down a stereo for a short time.

Amprack2.jpg
 

OP
C

Cruising68

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,393
Reactions
1,033
Points
262
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Thread Starter #36
Some more progress this weekend. Finished the amp rack minus connecting speaker wires and main power and ground. Ditched the third row seat and I am building a lockable storage box over the amps. Third pic is with the trap door sitting on place.
AMprRack3.jpg

Amprack4.jpg

Amprack5.jpg
 

OP
C

Cruising68

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,393
Reactions
1,033
Points
262
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Thread Starter #37
Finished 95% of the rack and storage box. Going to line the inside with dynaliner and neoprene over that. Probably secure some straps so I can hold whatever i need down. Probably putting dynaliner under the black carpet I got for the top. All wiring in the amp rack is finished except for terminating the speakers and hooking up the NAV-TV interface. Going to move on to the rear doors and front to finish the sound deadening.
Amprack6.jpg

Amprack7.jpg
 

OP
C

Cruising68

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,393
Reactions
1,033
Points
262
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Thread Starter #38
Pulled the first and second row seats and the center console to finish sound deadening the floor. Got that done. Also installes a cheap lock on my storage box. Looking for something more secure but I have a cabinet style lock on it now. Tomorrow I'm hoping to get the fat ground wire setup somewhere, probably behind 2nd row, and get the power run to the battery. Would also like to get the carped in the box and start getting the trim panels bacl on but it is supposed to storm on and off tomorrow and my garage is full of crap.
 

OP
C

Cruising68

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,393
Reactions
1,033
Points
262
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Thread Starter #39
Got the top of the storage box carpeted. Finished sound deadening the whole floor. There is another layer under the dynaliner that you can't see.

Floor1.JPG
Floor2.JPG
Floor3.JPG
 

OP
C

Cruising68

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,393
Reactions
1,033
Points
262
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Thread Starter #40
Here's what the sub looks like with the box. Sorry for the lighting or lack thereof.

Sub9.JPG
 



Top