koskesh

I have come up with the idea to install 2 12" in a custom made enclosure and cutting holes in the rear deck and having the subs come through from the trunk behind the deck so it kinda looks like the subs are mounted on the rear deck but they're really in the enclosure. the enclosure will be secured to the rear deck so no bass leaks to the trunk and it will be supported on the bottom. This will either be a ported or sealed box which, in case of ported there will be holes to have the ports in the room as well.

Has anyone attempted anything like this? How does it sound or how would you expect a setup like this to sound?

I know that with this setup I don't have to worry about trunk rattling, I also expect to get dramatically louder bass since the subs are in the room. I'm hoping I can get this done with my current 12"s but if that doesn't work I'll go with 3 10's.

thanks

jskibo

I've seen free air 10" in 190's.

Let us know what wattage it takes to crack the rear window

koskesh

hopefully more than 600 rms

Bigpete123

I dunno, man. Have you looked carefully at the rear deck of your car? 2 12's or 3 10's might be very difficult to fit.

I'm currently installing a single 10" subwoofer via infinite baffle (i.e. free-air), and due to the contours of the rear deck (both the interior trim and the metal dash), it's gonna be somewhat difficult.

You will have to cut huge holes, too. This is risky for two reasons. First, Mercedes sealed the trunk off for safety since the gas tank is in the trunk. God forbid an explosion should occur, you're going to be toast- literally. Second, the rear dash provides structural integrity to the car. Too much cutting and you're going to loose that. That will not only affect the way the car handles, but also the way it will hold up in an accident. I decided to take these risks, but I worry that 2 12's or 3 10's will be a bad idea.

I recommend getting out a measuring tape and taking a serious look at what will fit. I'm not saying it's impossible, but you're looking at a HUGE job- lots of cutting and fabrication. Trust me, I've done it! Here are a few pics of my rear deck that I took, just to give you an idea of the measurements. These are old pics of my previous installation- my new installation is going to be pretty different (i.e. cleaner).

This one is shot from inside the trunk looking up. You can see the size of the hole in the metal. My old setup had a much smaller hole in the interior dash piece since there isn't very much room inside the car. This is going to change in my new installation, but you get the idea:







I know, this looks pretty ugly. Again, I'm redoing everything in a much cleaner way:



Some measurements:

Bigpete123

I just thought about it. If you want a lot of bass, you don't necessarily need tons of subs. why not look into just getting one single high-powered sub. Image Dynamics is known for having the best subs on the market today. I'm more of a sound quality guy, but apparently these subs are really damn loud. They're spendy, but if you only have to buy one, it might be cheaper.

Their IDMAX 12" 2 ohm dual voice coil sub can be wired to 1 ohm (i.e. high wattage). You gotta make sure you have an amp that can handle 1 ohm though. Check it out:

http://www.imagedynamicsusa.com/prod...idmax&type=sub

YNVDIZW124

Here is my box that i can fit 3 12" subs firing up. I just need to port it so it can be louder but i just don't have time to cut it and tune it.

RHW

I have two 8" subs mounted this way.

Works great and I lose very little trunk space.

I believe 10s or 12s could be do-able.

In the trunk, my subs were carpeted then covered tight with a matching vinyl.

Bigpete123

post some pics, man!! I keep hearing you talk about your system... I'd love to see it.

Bigpete123

Yeah, but what I think he's proposing is actually mounting the subs in the rear deck rather than in a box in the trunk... which I don't think will be possible. There isn't 24 inches between the headrests (but even more than that would be required). I guess you could maybe mount 2 of them behind the headrests, but again, that's a whole lot of cutting!

Makahveli

I reccommend you just put ports in the rear deck. I'll have more pics up on how I did it and it looks very clean with none of that insulation stuff visible at all, each post is 4" in diameter (could be bigger) and 5 inches deep. If you do it like that you can put as many subs in the trunk you want and the bass will flow freely into the cab area. And in also looks more factory matching my interior if I ever sell the car. Look at the pic in my Terra Lowering Springs thread.

koskesh

thanks for the replies.

Bigpete123, I also had concerns about the amount of cutting needed and the structural integrity of the car after all the cutting. Now you've got me thinking about safety of the car, and I hate to compromise any of the safety designs of the car.
From the picture you posted from under the deck it looks like I should be able to mount a 12 flush from the bottom. My idea is to first mount the subs in a box then mount the box with the subs facing the holes I will be cutting in the deck. So I won't actually need a flat surface on the deck. the holes will then be covered with some sort of speaker grill/cover to match the interior.

RHW, let's see some pictures of your installation that would give me a good Idea of how much room I'm working with. How does it sound by the way? Do you have an enclosure or is it infinite baffle where you use the trunk as the enclosure?

Makahveli, those ports look pretty sweet, I may have to go that route if I decide not to go through all the work I will have to do. It is a much simpler and a very effective solution for me.

Bigpete123

oh I see. I misunderstood you. So you do want to do something similar to what YNVDIZW124 posted where there is space between the subs and the deck. That would definitely be easier.

I'll keep you guys all posted on my system when I'm finally done with it!!

And PS- I repeat!!! RHW, please post pics, mang!

BZNHALFDZN

I had this box in my 93 300ce,4 dual voice coil 8 inch Fosgates that damn near killed me! You just can't beat the tight responsive bass that a couple of good 8's put out.

crr1612

ive been looking for that box everywhere man. i like that u get the 4 subs, but it still leaves u with a lot of room. by the way, i failed inspection twice for emissions on the 300ce, any ideas? sorry, dont wanna hijack ur thread

RHW

Within about 2 weeks.

My camera is in Japan with the 22 yr old.

The funny thing is my stereo sorta repeats three times.

I use the Alpine Nav in the coupe, but the Becker traffic pro head unit is in several of my other cars.

My 3 main drivers all have the same JL 500/5, the same Diamond audio tweeters, 4s, 6s, and then each has their own sub, depending on my space, I am totally into stealth layouts.

So yea, pictures coming soon...

BZNHALFDZN

The box was custom made,have you had anyone check the o2 sensor or meter the injection system.Sorry your going through that I never had to do emissions on the car.If you cant get it resolved and you want to bring the car down I can set it for ya.

crr1612

i guess thats why i couldnt find the box, heh. i have had anyone check either of those yet, im gonna order the 02 sensor soon and then see how it works out for me.