Custom trunk sub box and spare tire cover

[Athikerguy4life]

So after doing some research on here and looking at some local stores I have decided to build my own custom box for my V. I have the 1.8 Sedan, and being the S model, it is not wired for the stock sub. Most of the boxes out there are way to big for the trunk of my car since I use it quite often to haul around gear, plus the tiny little floor panel probably can't hold up much more than 50 pounds..

Here is my plan: I want to frame out the trunk with 2x3's. This will give me a stable platform to put my new box on. Once I have the 2x3's down, I'll cut some mdf to cover the entire floor of the trunk. The sub box will be placed right against the back of the rear seat. One piece of mdf will cover the top 1/3 of the trunk (closest to the seat) and another sheet will cover the bottom 2/3s of the trunk. The larger sheet will have either a cutout or doors that can be lifted out completely or opened up so that I will still have access to the spare tire and what not. It's probably going to be a sealed enclosure and I'm going to cover the whole shabang with black carpet (to match my interior) And I'm going to add some sound dampening in the space thats going to be provided by the 2x3 frame. I want to make sure that I will be able to return the whole thing to stock if I ever decide to sell it. I'm also thinking of adding some led's or something and running them off the trunk light wire so that they only come on when I open the trunk.

This will be my first box build and I will be taking pictures to post as I go. Hopefully will be starting in the next couple weeks. The sub is a 12" 1000 watt rms. Haven't decided if I want to run 2 or 1, but proably just gonna stick with one.

So, anyone have any ideas or input?
Sealed vs Ported?
Cheap options for dynamat?

[Athikerguy4life]

Seriously, any input from anyone would be nice? Just want to know if someone thinks it'll be a good idea or a waste of time?

[randy8876]

It's a little difficult to get an idea of how you are building this.
Have you made measurements to see if it will all fit? You'll need to know the sub model so you know box volume and depth.

It might be easier to build a 1 piece flat/wide rectangular box. Granted if you ever get a flat it sucks to remove, but it lets you keep your spare.

Other options for keeping the spare are using fiberglass and making boxes that are molded to the sides or getting aftermarket rims, replacing the spare with a 17" rim and making an mdf/fiberglass box that the tire sits into and acts as a grill (super labor intensive and kind of expensive). You can find pictures of this online- there isn't a slicker set up that I've ever seen.

[Athikerguy4life]

I'll post pictures as I build so that you can see what I'm doing.

[dhennessey]

I'm a little late to the party, but i think the 2x3" wood is unnecessary and overkill. If you want to reenforce the stock truck pan, just use some 1/4" MDF shaped to the trunk and be done with it.

[Athikerguy4life]

Yeah, I also decided that 2x3's were overkill too. I ended up using 1/2 inch mdf as a floor for the trunk. It is in 3 pieces, the main section is a big rectangle that takes up the majority of the trunk. Then there are 2 side pieces that are cut to the shape of the trunk. It is plenty strong enough to hold up the weight of the sub box. I went with a 1.5 cubic foot ported box. The thing is heavy. I lost most of my trunk space, but it sounds nice.

[randy8876]

Did you ever get any pictures for us?

[Athikerguy4life]

wow. old post. haha. i've moved on since this topic started. I don;'t even think I have pics of this though.. For a short while I had the sealed wedge box up against the back of the trunk and a hinged floor to retain use of the spare, but I wanted something louder, so I've moved on to this:



This is more of a function before form kind of thing. Ratchet straps keep it really tight I found with other setups it moves around too much. I had this for awhile too. I liked the look, but It was impossible to take out and move around. i broke a support and trashed the whole thing.