YNVDIZW124

It's really easy to make a fiberglass box for the sides of the trunk because we already have the mold. You have to take off the plastic covers in the trunk and cover them in tin foil. Install them back in the trunk and cover where you're going to put more fiberglass with tin foil.

I've done fiberglass work some fiberglass work but you really need 2-3 days to do it right. I only have 1 sunday to work on my mustangs and really don't have time to do any fiberglass projects. I wish i could show you guys my skills here but when i get some free time i will.

RHW

When you say "really don't have time" I think you sum up the reason we all don't have more done to our cars.

Anyway, I said I'd post some pics of the factory JL Audio sealed sub box in my trunk, both Sportlines are identical:





And of course the AMP is outta site, behind the sub location.

I admit, I am lazy. I will replicate this trunk amp/sub set up until I see a better one for me.

ZedStyle

nice, very functional and simple, i like that.
I already invested in a weaker sub and bought the wrong amp, so it will not be pushed hard at all. I'm going to cut the rear deck and do the usual mount-under-the-first aid kit thing. if it fires into the cabin i figure i'll get something out of it, and also if i ever decide to upgrade it i will already have the gaping hole to work with. i didn't want anything too powerful, kind of over the whole SPL thing, and i also prefer light weight to save my gas and shocks. the two 12's i had back there must have weighed 90 to 100 pounds in the box... never again!
I have my amps bolted to the underside of the rear deck, so i'll have to find a way to move them. i am constantly picking people up from the airport, so i need a functional trunk!

Saijin_Naib

Smart move Zed! Does your car have a mounting bracket thing under the decklid? My 300ce has it and there is what appears to be an amp hanging there. I was told it is the unit for the in-car phone, but I think this would be a great place to put your amp. Its on the very top of the trunk and wont take up more than maybe an inch of space vertically down from the decklid.

Bigpete123

Zed, you could do an infinite baffle setup like I did. It's purely an SQ setup... it's not gonna make you feel like somebody is punching you in the kidneys, but it saves tons of trunk space and will be very accurate if you do it correctly.

The downside is that you have to spend a lot of time sealing the rear deck from the trunk. Meaning that the trunk hinges and the headrest mechanisms need to be sealed off... which is no small task.

The other option of course is to hang an enclosure on the rear deck. I didn't like that idea because I was concerned that it would be too heavy and cause the rear deck to sag. And of course it takes up more room.

ZedStyle

thanks man, i'm going to end up going with mounting a box on the rear deck. i have a 10" shallow mount sub, and the box will be small, so hopefully it won't sag... i never actually thought of that possibility!

joef

If you screw the box to the deck, not just where the sub is but on the outer parts of the box, you won't have any problems with sagging. If you were to just screw it in the cut-threw sub are you might have some. I'll try and snap some pics of the box in the back of my E320 later today.

Bigpete123

That's true. As long as the box is rigid enough, if you screw it in well it will act almost as a reinforcement.

ZedStyle

i'm thinking of drilling small holes into the deck, and then putting screws through those with a washer and then straight into the face of the box. do you foresee any issues with this, or is there a better what to secure it?

joef

That's exactly what I did with mine. The only thing I would suggest - when I was sizing my box out, I made an extra ring for the woofer to sit on so it sat off the the box and higher than the rear deck of the car. It helped keep the box height wise as small as possible and when you open the trunk you don't even notice it.

joef

pictures

ZedStyle

hey that's my sub!!

where did you put your amp?

joef

Hadn't gotten that far. I was going to mount them on the wall underneath. But the car has too much rust for what I want to do with it, so I'll be pulling out the box shortly and selling it. Not sure what I'm going to get next, no point in having it lying around.

Bigpete123

Zed, you should buy that box from Joef... you have the same sub and the same application. You should also buy the cover he made (which was made with a CNC router for a factory-like fit)...

No sense in redoing it all yourself.

One question I have though in terms of fastening it to the deck: If it's a sealed enclosure, how did you seal the holes that the bolts went through? If I understand, you said the bolds simply go through the top of the box.

RHW

I went the chopped rear deck route with this box:







But comparing that sealed/solid mounted box with one W6 sitting in a sealed box as pictured in this thread, well, I recommend that (new version) W6 hands down. I would never have done the above install for W3s if I had heard the W6 first - the stereo place kept telling me my amp wouldn't push the W6, hogwash, they push the sub and increase clarity down low.

Thats just me, as everyone says, listen and let your ears make your decisions. With the amount of work involved in chopping a rear deck, I would buy the best sub and amp I could swing. Reminds me of the industry I am in, but bottom line, since the job includes so much labor to do right, saving a few bucks on materials makes no sense imo.

Got done writing this and saw Bigpete's great idea, yea, buy the box, there's some labor savings! I doubt there is "much" demand for this specific application.

ZedStyle

if I had known he would be selling it, i would not have just bought a box online on monday...
his looks like a perfect fit, too!
would the bolts not just seal the holes by the fact that they're in the hole?

joef

I used screws. No need to fill holes. Zed just out of curiosity whats a box worth online?

Bigpete123

(I think he just bought a generic box... I doubt anyone out there makes one like yours).

RHW, was the deck-mounted box in another one of your cars? If not, why didn't you just adapt the W6 for a similar box in the deck-mounted position? I'm sure your W6 would sound even better firing directly into the cabin.

RHW

Yes, Pete, I have significant audio in 5 W124s. Those last shots were of my 89 coupe, the first W124 I stereo-fied. Now, that's my brother's car.

The reason I did not replicate the 89's set up was because once I heard the "moderate budget" upgrade described in my first post, I lost any interest in cutting the rear decks in the 2 Sportlines.

The W6 is so much more accurate than my W1s or W3s, it is not funny. You are right, I assume it would sound even better firing into the cabin. But...I've reached my pleasure point in those cars' audio system already and have a few too many itons on the fire anyway.

Bigpete123

Makes sense!

RHW

The JL Audio part number for the 10" sub box (image above):
CVS110G-W6V2 ProWedge

MSRP: $599 (is what they TOLD me)
I paid: $400 (from a valid dealer)



http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_e...=6&prod_id=305

YNVDIZW124

Anyone ever thought about doing a round "bazooka" type tube to the cab?

What songs do you guys use to test your systems?

I use for SQ Rick James - Give it to me baby and Newcleus - Jam on it..

If you want some test tones go here...http://www.realtraps.com/test-cd.htm

AMGDave

Great info, Reid! I'm slowly working on a complicated system for my '87 300D. It's been half-done for about five years now. I really want to finish it up. The Nakamichi CD700 head unit goes to an Audio Control DQT, back to three Soundstream Reference amps, which feed the full Jehnert setup in the front (Quart drivers with Rainbow soft-dome tweet), Quart rear coaxials, and subs which are TBD... probably a loose box in the trunk for a few more years, until I decide if I want to do the custom 7th-order bandpass box or not (3 chamber, 2 drivers). Amps and PowerGrid cap will reside in the spare tire well.

I just posted a bunch of info on the CD-700 units on my website, at this link, click on the HTML and PDF files. The CD-700 units are incredible - possibly the best SQ available in the car audio market, and the only deck with an analog volume knob. Since you asked for speaker recommendations... I would get Rainbows, which are custom fit for the 124. Period. They fit right, and sound great. The effort needed to stuff Quarts (or anything else) in the funky metric dash holes is just not worth it. BT, DT, won't do it again.

I experimented on my white '87 before deciding what to do with the blue car. I found that midbass drivers up front (in the doors) are absolutely necessary. You can't blend subs in the trunk with 4" mids in the dash. My '94 has a decent system, Jehnert speakers up front, stock rear, Soundstream sub in box in trunk, powered by a single 5-channel amp. My '93 is stock right now other than Rainbows in the dash. I plan a simple system for the '93, just a CD-700 with 4-channel amp, Rainbow fronts, stock door & rears, probably no subs at all - not sure yet. All the cars have (or will have) 150A alternators to feed the systems.

Pics of the blue car install (so far), as well as a few shots of the '94, full pics of the Rainbows, and more are at this link. I spent a lot of time fixing the Jehnert tweeter installation, and got it to fit properly with a modified baffle board, but sadly I lost the 10-20 detailed photos I took along the way. The only ongoing problem I have is the midbass drivers in the doors tend to loosen things up and cause rattles over time. Too much bass, lol!

RHW

You wrote: BT DT,
and I laughed as I did my Rainbow speaker homework (maybe for the 4th time)

and found this post:

gsxr04-20-2004, 05:11 PM bump - Scott, I'm curious too, if you have info on Afshin's question... I got Jehnert door panels (which are sweeeeet) but the Jehnert solution in the dash doesn't work - the tweeter won't fit under the stock grille. So I'm stuck between an external tweeter mount, on the door mirror trim cover, or trying the Rainbows. I have MB Quart coaxials up front now but the titanium tweet is just a little too harsh!
-----------

So...Rainbows are on order today for ze dash.

And Naks are a rare bird indeed, the best for as long as I can remember. Nice looking head unit. I miss Nakamichi, they provided the answer to most "when cost is not an object" audio questions.

Bigpete123

Couldn't agree more with AMG Dave on the mid bass in the front. My first system had 4" coax speakers in the dash with a sub in the rear deck. It was almost irritating to listen to IMO. IT's a ton of work to do a proper midbass driver installation in the door, but if you want SQ you have to do it.

I also agree with the Nakamichi assessment. I have a CD-400... not nearly as expensive as the 700 (which my dad has in his 300sdl- what an HU that thing is!). But i love it. At its price point, it definitely has the best sound I've heard. It's short on features, but all I want is radio, aux in, and CD playback with good SQ. The secondary benefit is that the simple look fits the look of my old car perfectly.

I also agree on the PITA it is to fit 4" speakers in the metric holes in the dash... here's what I had to do. I used 1/4" mdf, which I had laying around. The clearance is extremely tight... in hindsight I should've used 1/8" hardboard for the baffle.