Subwoofer location questions

i have next to no bass in my 156. in any other car ive had, i would have sorted this by using 6x9's but cant in the alfa.

so, i was thinking. im intending on either two Elemental Designs 7kv.2 subs, 6.5", or two SQ10's, 10" but with only 3" mounting depth needed.

the 7kv.2's need a mounting depth of 3.5". both types are infinite baffle capable ie, dont have to be boxed, so i was thinking of fitting these to the parcel shelf.

what would be the best way? cut holes in parcel shelf, place mounts, stretch t-shirt material and fibreglass then fill cavity between fibreglass and original shelf with expanding foam and recarpet?

The 156 sound system isn't very good no,

I don't however suggest you start cutting holes into the car. I reckon you should just do it the old fashioned way with a 10" Subby thrown in the boot with an amp strapped to the box.

Keep it tidy and simple,

i will be needing an amp, and that will have to be mounted in the boot.
but im after getting subtle sound fill inside the car, not a thump from the boot.

i will only need to cut the parcel shelf itself, not the metal underneath....it either that or i will replace the centre armrest with a single 6.5" sub.

Go for a JL audio 10w3v3, awsome little sub. Then build a nice slim box to go all the way across behind the rear seat, this can also accomodate an amplifier housing.

This way it will take up hardly any space and if you cover it in a matching grey carpet it will look very stock.

Or a W7 or any JL sub haha

again, would much prefer the subs actually in the passenger compartment. "in-car entertainment".

Yeah I know what you are saying but bass is non directional and therefore a sub will work perfectly in the boot of a car.

i wouldn't bother trying to fit a 'sub' onto the parcel tray. any speaker/sub requires very SOLID mounting to work effectively, and rattles can be a big issue. you can't attach a speaker to the parcel tray/metal without a lot of modification, and in the end, it's unlikely to sound great. cutting the metal is probably a no-no (in australia, a major mod like that would technically require an engineering certificate to approve the car remains structurally sound) but i'm unsure if the magnet would fit ok without that. you'd need a big slab of mdf wood or similar to hold the thing. then a cut-out in the trim. also, for infinite baffle to work properly, the boot becomes the enclosure, which means you need to seal off the boot from the cabin entirely, with only the back of the sub opening into it. a lot of work for possibly not a great results, which ends up modifying the car/trims (bad for resale).

a quality 8" or 10" sub may suffice, in a proper enclosure/subbox, mounted in the boot. the resultant sound is NOT going to be 'doof doof' UNLESS you tune the amplifier that way, to drown out the speakers. a properly tuned system blends the subbass in with the speakers to compliment the sound, not dominate.

if you want to go fancy, then have a part-fibreglass enclosure built into the side of the boot, following the contours of the carpet trim for maximum space utilisation. realise too, most shallow mount subs still require a standard size box (in terms of overall volume (cuft/litres)), though it can be shallow; but don't mistake a shallow sub as necessarily requiring a small box (i'm referring to non-inifinite baffle models). often not the case.

i'm unsure what brands are available to you, but perhaps a Digital Designs DD510 10" or DD1508a, or Image Dynamics ID8v3 or ID10v3. all are great subs that can work in small enclosures (<1cuft).

if you're really deadset on the parcel shelf option, for sure try it. will be interesting to hear how you go.

ok, cheers for the input, will look into it!

Originally Posted by aziraphale

i have next to no bass in my 156. in any other car ive had, i would have sorted this by using 6x9's but cant in the alfa.

so, i was thinking. im intending on either two Elemental Designs 7kv.2 subs, 6.5", or two SQ10's, 10" but with only 3" mounting depth needed.

the 7kv.2's need a mounting depth of 3.5". both types are infinite baffle capable ie, dont have to be boxed, so i was thinking of fitting these to the parcel shelf.

what would be the best way? cut holes in parcel shelf, place mounts, stretch t-shirt material and fibreglass then fill cavity between fibreglass and original shelf with expanding foam and recarpet?

I think you can fit some 5x7 in the existing holes in the rear parcel shelf don't know if that would give you the type of bass you want. Obviously not as good as a sub but maybe an alternative to the 6x9's you mentioned.

5x7's would give enough, but thanks for the idea....unless i could get 5x7 to 6x9 adapters....hmm

5x7's wouldnt, sorry.

what have you pit in the doors? I had 4x infinity kappas in my old 156 they sounded ok. Ended up going for an infinity sub and amp combined job in the boot in the end thou. It just needed that extra kick!

Originally Posted by aziraphale

5x7's would give enough, but thanks for the idea....unless i could get 5x7 to 6x9 adapters....hmm

don't think there is such a thing!

Originally Posted by aziraphale

5x7's would give enough, but thanks for the idea....unless i could get 5x7 to 6x9 adapters....hmm

Alpine do 6x9 with a 5x7 adaptor for use in fords!!!
But dont fudge about....fiberglass box in o/s side of boot with focal 10" sub (which is actually 11"?) Hertz Components in the front leave the rears factory and running of the head unit and a decent say...Audison 4 channel amp to run the fronts and sub.
The next upgrade is comp. to rear doors to run of 4 channel amp and decent mono block to take over running the sub!!!YOU WILL BE THE MAN!!

As for running subs free air...this aint the 80's man!! Modern music is to deep for free air subs and your car will rattle like buggery and you wont feel the sub bass.....box it , deaden it, feel it!

You learn something new every day - never heard of the adaptors until now! Totally agree with what you said about free air subs - not worth it, they always flap when pushed

You could go the other way and build pods in behind your current door speakers, enclosing them behing naturally enhances the base they produce, just ensure that anything you put in the void is clear of the window mechanisms. I've done this on my last 2 cars, a 155 and a 146, the 159 is bassy enough for me and the 147 is 'er indoors motor so Idon't care about it in there. There is an option though on the 156 to fit a sub in the left hand side of the boot, but that may be just the saloon model (I can't remember) so you could look at pulling them from a breaker and see if that improves things.

smaky, whats this bass option? is it the bose one? if it is, i wont be able to, i dont think... i might just get 2 amps, and strip the interior, finish the sound deadening, and find some subbage.

If you want some good deals on audio/deadnig etc. check out sextonsdirect.co.uk or give me a pm of a parts list and i'll get you some good prices.

nice one, cheers!

i'm running two 10" vibe speakers in the boot which give a nice tight bass. they have been built in either side of the boot in modules as opposed to a standard sub box.
don't what power of amp your running but i recommend at least 1kw and run it at half power, it retains the quality and doesn't shake the car apart

wonderwal, do you have any photos of the boot modules, as you call them? who made them?