Sub woofers in the spare wheel well.

[gunbir]

Hey y'all

This got lost in the whole TBHP backup/restore thing. So here it is again.

Many a time we have seen folks not going in for a sub cuz they need the boot space. Well here is a solution I have often written about but nobody has tried it yet on the forum. Well here it is in all its pictorial glory. I like to call it an SWWS or Spare Wheel Well Sub.

Here goes... our subject here is a new Santo Xing. Boot space was an issue... also wanted to keep it stealth.

Here we look at the boot. You can see the cardboard (coir?) board with the carpet which covers the spare wheel.


Here is the carpet, which was glued to the board, gently peeled off to reveal the board.


Remove the board.


Another look at the boot without the board.


Remove the two plastic locks and nylon handle from the board. Thry were rivetted to the board.


Measure how much depth your sub needs. Here is an Image Dynamics iD10v3 10" sub.


Well the depth was less than what we wanted to we sawed off the plastic head of this bolt that is used to secure the spare wheel.


Remember the board we removed in pic #3. Well use that to trace the outline of the board on 1" MDF (we used 1" because we needed the height).


Here you can see the marked outline with sub cutout marked as well. Board has been cut to the shape required.


Secure the sub with two screws and test fit in the spare wheel well. To make sure the sub was not touching the spare wheel.




Put on a nice grill to protect the sub.


Pull the carpet back on, install the amp (a 5ch Audison SRx5 in this case) and you're done.


looks stock, and you can keep anything from luggage to sabzi on that... look closer and you will see the nylon handle we removed from the earlier board has been installed again on this baffle. Helps whem you want to change that spare.


Here, note the thick damping sheet used on the underside of the baffle (board) and also a thinner damping cloth used to cover the wheel.


just FYI, used a Kenwood 5029 HU - 2 RCA preout. Very nice HU. Excellent build quality.


Rear 5.25" coax speakers in stock locations.


and Front 4" coax speakers in the front stock locations.


So thats a very nice and simple 5ch, space efficient system for you. Sounds very nice. The iD CTX coaxes surprise everyone with their component like sound (and price ) and they take nice amount of power as well. The amp gives 75w x 4 + 180w x 1 and these coaxes are pretty happy with that power.

Enjoy...

[navin]

how heavy is the board + sub. one has to hold that up while removing the spare tyre right?

[gunbir]

Originally Posted by navin

how heavy is the board + sub. one has to hold that up while removing the spare tyre right?

Yup. It weighs around 10Kg but you can lift it with one hand. And we have a 'handsfree' solution. Stay tuned.

[SLK]

interesting.... but in marutis the wheel goes in the other way. the outer side faces up!

[gunbir]

Originally Posted by SLK

interesting.... but in marutis the wheel goes in the other way. the outer side faces up!

Yes SLK. You're right. But the metal projection on which they bolt the wheel can be welded off. Then you can invert the wheel and do this. Usually, I refrain from any major mods to the car, but in this case its just a bolt. End of the day, depends how bad you want it.

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by SLK

interesting.... but in marutis the wheel goes in the other way. the outer side faces up!

are you sure...? in the esteem it is not so...

btw this is a very innovative idea gunbir... kudos to you

i would like to get this done for my esteem sometime in the future... i have the stock kenwood HU (tape player) and in the boot i have a 10 CD Kenwood Changer.... all i would need is an amp and a sub woofer... do i need to change the fader speakers and the rear speakers which came as OE with my car as well or can i stay with the current ones?

[moralfibre]

Looks well executed. The owner has to be very careful while trying to use the spare wheel.

[navin]

if you have a hands free solution for an octavia I'd love to see it. I could use 3 EX200s or 2 EX200s and 1 EX250 in my Octavia then. One in each corner and one in spare type well.

Now I am getting an *evil* idea. Steal Mclarean's 450. use 3 channels to drive 3 subs. use 2 channels for rear. use my 340 bridged to drive front.

[gunbir]

Originally Posted by navin

if you have a hands free solution for an octavia I'd love to see it. I could use 3 EX200s or 2 EX200s and 1 EX250 in my Octavia then. One in each corner and one in spare type well.

Now I am getting an *evil* idea. Steal Mclarean's 450. use 3 channels to drive 3 subs. use 2 channels for rear. use my 340 bridged to drive front.

Do-able

Well the ES200 takes upto 200w continous. Though they work very well with less power than that, they will really kick with more power. Yeah, McL's 450 is just sitting at home...

BTW Have a look at the Audison SRx2, its a tiny looking amp, gives out 170x1@4ohms. Some dealers use this amp (our cheapest at Rs 12130) to drive pioneer subs. It gives the poor pio subs a good thrashing too. Also have a look at the SRx3 amp (yes a 3 channel).

Re the handsfree solution. Although we have our ACT series electronic hydraulic actuators, which can lift this at the flick of a switch, they are expensive and best used in high end installs. There is a cheap alternative to them. Source a spare hydraulic piston arm thingy used in hatch doors. With careful placement and installation, it effortlessly lifts up the mdf floor. If your floor is very heavy, use two, they are relatively inexpensive.

[mclaren1885]

Originally Posted by navin

Now I am getting an *evil* idea. Steal Mclarean's 450. use 3 channels to drive 3 subs. use 2 channels for rear. use my 340 bridged to drive front.

Originally Posted by gunbir

Yeah, McL's 450 is just sitting at home...

Gosh look at these two .. Eyeing on my poor 450 .. May god banish this thought from their minds (or else il have to do a brain surgery soon ) ..

Btw nice install gunman .. HHHmm getting weird ideas now ..

[mohit]

Nice install!

Has anyone heard of Blaupunkt THW series? I know these are no match for the one installed here but sound interesting as they hava e mounting depth of just 2.5''
http://www.gspr.com/blau/thw.html

[navin]

Originally Posted by gunbir

Well the ES200 takes upto 200w continous. Also have a look at the SRx3 amp (yes a 3 channel).

Re the handsfree solution. Although we have our ACT series electronic hydraulic actuators......cheap alternative ...Source a spare hydraulic piston arm thingy used in hatch doors... If your floor is very heavy, use two, they are relatively inexpensive.

I know my system has some severe limitaions. Bass being only one of them. The front and rear components could do with upgrading too. That said...

I have an Alpine 340 which serves my fullranges. That and the 9833 HU are not going to go.

I hope to able to upgrade the rest (front, rer, sub and sub amp) one step at a time. The object is more SQ not more SPL.

I figured 100W per sub and 30-40W per fullrange would be adequate. Remember I dont advocate listening to music too loud more so in a car when one has to pay attention to the traffic as well.

The alpine 450 was only mentioned to tickle mclaren and also because it would match my 340 cosmetically. Mclaren: I have not forgotten CCTB! :-) LOL

Now assuming i got my hands on a 450 (cheap) there are 2 options. use the 450 to drive all 3 subs (bridged) and the 340 to run the fullranges or use the 450 to run the 3 subs and 2 rear speakers and the 340 bridged to drive the front (lastly one could use the 450 to drive 1 sub and 4 fullranges and bridge the 340 to drive the other 2 subs but that is virtually the same as the second option).

I fear the SRx3 may be unaffordable. Even amps like the Kicker KX550.3 and Infinity 5761 (148 watts RMS x 2 + 287 watts RMS x 1 in bridged mode) are expensive new.

As far as the subs go 3 ES200's might be way to expensive too. I have to budget for new front components as well.

Right now I am waiting till you guys hit Mumbai then I would like to compare your stuff to other brands I have heard. Till then my wallet can have a break.

[viper]

Hi Gunbir,

Do you think it i spossible to implement the spare wheel sub concept in my Getz. If so what sub would be ideal to go in there. Another question is how do we avoid the ratlle/vibration caused by the woofer of the tool kit which would lie on the carpet/ply flooring of the boot.

I would be powering the sub with a Soundstream XTA 240.2(60x2WRMS @4ohms) already bought. Please suggest brands available in Mumbai. I would like to install the subs asap as the system lacks in bass.

My existing setup is as follows:

Alpine CDA-9835 HU
Soundstream XSC.6 Components 6 1/2" in the Front & Rear Doors
Amplifier -2 nos Soundstream XTA240.2 two channel amps.(60x2WRMS @ 4ohm)
Kicker amplifier wiring kit.

Viper

[gunbir]

Originally Posted by viper

Hi Gunbir,

Do you think it i spossible to implement the spare wheel sub concept in my Getz. If so what sub would be ideal to go in there. Another question is how do we avoid the ratlle/vibration caused by the woofer of the tool kit which would lie on the carpet/ply flooring of the boot.

I would be powering the sub with a Soundstream XTA 240.2(60x2WRMS @4ohms) already bought. Please suggest brands available in Mumbai. I would like to install the subs asap as the system lacks in bass.

My existing setup is as follows:

Alpine CDA-9835 HU
Soundstream XSC.6 Components 6 1/2" in the Front & Rear Doors
Amplifier -2 nos Soundstream XTA240.2 two channel amps.(60x2WRMS @ 4ohm)
Kicker amplifier wiring kit.

Viper

Hi Viper

Sure, you can do this in the Getz. If done properly, I think you can squeeze a 12" in there. Any sub which does 'Infinite Baffle' well will do. As for rattles, a 1" mdf baffle with underside damping will not rattle. In the santro install, there is zero rattle, even with the tool kit there.

You already have two amps. For the sub you will add a third. Where in the car are you installing all these amps.

[viper]

Hi Gunbir,

The 2 amps are below the front seats, I thought I would fit the third on the boot floor. I had 2 other options in mind.

1> Use one of the 2 amps for the sub and power the rear speakers through the HU.
2> Exchange one of them for a Soundstream PCA 4.400(60x4WRMS). Use either 2 ch from this amp for the sub or use the 2 channel amp exclusively for the sub.

What would you recommend.

Viper