S13 rear spkrs...In the rear armrests!?!

[flipittothewall]

Got an idea for relocating my 6x9's (currently in the parcel shelf, not boxed in) in my '90 fastback: fab them into the rear armrest panels. I think it would look alot cleaner; not satisfied with the look or sound mounted on the parcel, and we all know the factory location is a pain for anything but 4x6's. Anyone else that has put them there, and what do yall think the sound quality would be with them firing at that angle (horizontally and opposed)?:help

[deej-79]

I have thought about this too, I think it would be best if you boxed the back. If you do it right I think it would look really cool, not sure about the sound but they would be really close to your head.

[flipittothewall]

That was the plan: fully boxed, possibly fiberglassed, and cover whats left of the 'arm rest insert' (it's just a line in the plastic) with a grill for protection and then cloth. Gonna try to aim them up and to the front some too.

[D1SR240]

if you cut out a hole in the armrest, then with big bass won't the speakers not be sturdy? plus is therer enough room for the magnet?

[ayjay]

i know the "armrests" that you're talking about, and those panels are not sturdy whatsoever... so in order to make them accomodate 6x9's you'd need some really good re-enforcements and a lot of sound deadening material...

so the best way to make the panels more rigid, you'd need to fibreglass the back of them... dunno how well fibreglass holds to that plastic but it's you're only real option to reinforce them... another way would be to spray expanding foam in behind the panel and around the enclosure you will have made for the 6x9's (they'll need to be enclosed), cause expanding foam gets really stiff and it expands like crazy and would definately stiffen up the panel... but don't plan on being able to remove it easily if you ever have to.

or what you might want to consider is not building the speaker INTO the panels but moreless just keep them mounted closely behind it and just cutting out a hole for the speaker grill... you'd get a lot of vibrations on the panel so you'd need to sound deaden it, or even throw in some fibreglass insulation in behind there as long as you know that no moisture is going to get in (...you'll get mold)

but either way, like i said before you'll need to enclose the 6x9's... 1/2" mdf would be decent to use and i'm sure you could fit it in behind there somehow.

hope that helps!

[Simmsled]

I think one of us needs to find the best way to get some 6X9s in the back of an S13 hatch. I have 6x9's and my little brother has an S13 hatch in severe need of upgraded sound. I hope to attack this over winter break. I get out of school for break in less than 2 weeks. The projects never end. I guess thats good and bad at the same time.

[deej-79]

I had 6x9s in the hatch cover but the sub boxes wont allow for them anymore, I am trying to find someplace else to put them cause the 6.5s in front just arent enough.

[Rex]

Are you referring to the side armrests?

There was a Buick GN in the 80's that did this with 8" or 10" mid-bass subs. It won everything for years. First car to use electronically controlled aperiodic sub enclosures and wave guides up front. It was the Speakerworks GN, let me see if I can find it. You might be able to emulate what they did for support/enclosure on the side.

[Rex]

If you didn't live this part of Car Stereo History in the 80's like us OLD guys, it's worth reading/learning about.

http://www.usdaudio.com/sw/cars/buick/

[Simmsled]

Ah yes, a classic. I loved that car. My dad had 2 of them, my brother (REPOMAN) had 1, and that install was badass!

[ayjay]

First car to use electronically controlled aperiodic sub enclosures and wave guides up front...

wha??? hahaha, i didn't even know there was such a thing as "aperiodic" sub enclosures, and these things called "wave guides"... sorry if i'm going to bring this thread a little off topic, but what the hell are those things!? i want one... maybe two?

[Rex]

I could "try" to explain, but you would get more accurate/complete information if you follow their Tutorials link.

[skazzi]

Somebody HAS to do this!

I've got 6x9's that I need to figure out how to squeeze into my 89 FB too. I'm going to aim for the same area you're talking about Flip. I think it can be done. If you take off that whole panel there are also two holes on either side of the car (infront of the seat) that would fit some speakers with a little work. The drivers side has an Amp there. Not sure how the sound would work out there though.

Also, had a Nissan Pulsar which had factory speakers angled out of the armrests in the back. Same plastic, crap paneling and had useless metal brackets that vibrated like mad. I ended up making fibreglass enclosures and anchored them to the wheel wells, and then the panels bolted tight to that. Never had a vibration problem and got more bass than I should have out of it. It's kind of like playing with Paper Mache but make sure you've got really good ventilation and a couple days drying time. Ick.

Ahhh, but I'm no expert

[flipittothewall]

Yeah, didnt mean mounting them directly to the panels. I'd planned on building a solid enclosure for them, and have fabric coverings that match the contour (or close as i can get it). That actually installation would be in an MDF/fiberglass 'pod' built behind the plastic panel. My only question is what the sound quality would be with them firing at that angle. I've seen the same thing in an '02 Mustang (ewww) convertible in a mag.

[flipittothewall]

Oh, and Simmsled, another thought I had for better ways to get 6x9's in a HB is a fully enclosed 'package shelf' that takes the place of the original-and very flimsy-parcel shelf. That's how the (hate to mention the M again) Mustangs with the Mach 460 system have them. It should be relatively easy to make one from wood and/or fiberglass, just would have to be firmly mounted. My HB came with crapped out Alpine 6x9's mounted to hand cut holes in the original parcel shelf. I replaced them immeadiately with my Infinity Kappa 6x9's, but with some kind of chamber, the sound is definitely less than stupifying.

[Rex]

Here's a couple speakers in the side armrests of a 95 240



Ok, different pic, not nearly as good

[Rex]

Here's another pic, but I think it's an S14, so does it really help??



If it's your pic, thanks

[Simmsled]

that is tight, im gonna get on that right away. Boston Acoustics 6x9s courtesy of Fred, PalmerWMD, out of his wrecked Q45 which currently lives in my garage will go in. I just needed a cool pic like that to get me hyped.

I havent been on Nico for the last week because i have been at my parents house for winter break from school. They have dial-up and it is really frustrating. but I hope to be on more. i hate dial-up.

[Altiman94]

How much is left of Fred's Q after Andy robbed all the parts off it?

[RatedR]

hey, do you guys think that setup is possible with a couple of 8s or 10s for an s13???? (Referring to the picture of the S14 that Rex posted)

[Rex]

I'm sure it can be done. You'll loose the "armrest" cavity, but the question is how much will it need to stick out, maybe psat the sides?

Pull one off and see how much depth there is. Also, look for some 8's that are designed for a very small sealed enclosure.

[RatedR]

Yo Rex, how would I make an enclosure like that pic of the s14's??? It looks like they just bolted/screwed in some MDF and sealed it with silicone, but is there any other prep stuff I need to do to the inner wheel well??? Does that kind of enclusure still have a box? Or is it just the board and does the quarter panel act as an enclosure??? Thanks~!

PS - Sorry for the thread jack, but this should be my last post.

-R

[Rex]

RatedR I don't think you're jacking this thread, maybe I did when I started the subs/speakers in the armrest??

My guess is the enclosure is fiberglass backed with some sort of mounting lip for the top board to bolt/attach to the front. If fiberglass is outside your skill set (it's beyond mine) you might be able to get some of those foam style backings (like below) and do your best to seal around it.

This will not work if the intent is for these to be your primary subs.



You might do a search on fiberglass in theis forum, as 1 guy did some killer work on his doors and I think he put together a "how to" on working with fibreglass.

Good Luck.

[RatedR]

Quote »This will not work if the intent is for these to be your primary subs.[/quote]

What do you mean??? I wanted to put my "primary" subs in there. So would it not work??? Or do you mean that the foam backing will not work??? Can I just enclose the quarter panel with wood AFTER I spray some sound deadening/sealing material into it to help with the enclosure????Thanks Rex~!

-R

[Rex]

I was saying do not use the foam backed process if the subs will be your primamry low end.

If you want to make them your primamry sub, find an 8" or 10" that will work great in a very small tightly sealed enclosure and find someplace (or someone better yet) and experiment with some fiberglass. Depending on how closely the side panels matches to the sheet metal, you might be able to use it as a mold.

As you can see from these pics you might not want the fiberglass hidden.

In these pics it's much easier to create and outward shape, unless you have some way of laying your 240 on its side .

Actually, these both look like fun projects, but time and patience are the 2 most important tools.

[ayjay]

i think what he means by "primary subs", is that putting subs in that type of enclosure would only be good enough for some bass fill and for show... don't expect them to pound like a properly tuned/ported enclosure would. that is why you would probably have your "primary subs" in the trunk if you want some heavy bass

[RatedR]

so whatever setup I can muster, it still wont knock as a box in the trunk??? I'm not that much into stomp competition, I just like my system sounding nice w/o having to struggle so much for bass....do you think two 8s in the rear quarter panel will work??

PS - ayjay, great work on ur setup bro~! Good luck in the shows, you should win~! Too bad I cant see the last pics of your project finished....

[ayjay]

so whatever setup I can muster, it still wont knock as a box in the trunk??? I'm not that much into stomp competition, I just like my system sounding nice w/o having to struggle so much for bass....do you think two 8s in the rear quarter panel will work??

PS - ayjay, great work on ur setup bro~! Good luck in the shows, you should win~! Too bad I cant see the last pics of your project finished....

hey thanks man! but hold up, cause you aint' seen nothin yet

i'm not saying that you CAN'T make the subs pound in the rear quarter panels, but it will be MUCH more difficult to make a properly sealed enclosure in those panels than it would be to place a box in your trunk... you gotta seal up those enclosure like a mofo, and fitting a decent sized enclosure in there is pretty tough... but like rex said, if you can find some subs that don't need a lot of airspace then you can make em pound pretty good... it's all about giving them the proper amount of airspace to make em go loud

[RatedR]

hey ayjay, you have an s13 right? If its a fastback, would you mind trying to see if a 10 would fit with a proper enclosure in the rear quarters? I'm not asking you to make an enclosure, just asking for a second opinion.......Thanks~!

[ayjay]

hehe umm i can check... i'll see what kind of mounting depth you might be able to get and take a couple pics tomorrow... i can't help you if it involves removing any bolts , cause i don't wanna have to do that...