Mounting a sub on the rear deck

[mckillio]

Will a 10" or a 12" sub fit in between the 6x9's on the rear deck? I want my trunk still and I think it would look very clean.

[hojemwod]

what year is your car?

[mckillio]

'98, sorry.

[hojemwod]

ah, I'm not sure if they would fit, I have a 4th gen, it would look cool though. Good luck!

[Oceanborn]

Technically it is possible, but think about it. If you were going to mount a sub on the back deck, you would loose a good chunk of vision out of your rear view mirror. But (In Theory) You could build a fiberglass enclosure that would fit the bill. If your main concern is space in your trunk, then you can always build a fiberglass enclosure that fills the side "Pockets" in your trunk. But once again, it's all your call.

[thomas97]

i know at pepboys they have this speakerbox with crap speakers in it for 20$ i plan to get it for the box, finance an amp and then once ive got the amp remove the speakers and put in subs.

EDIT:
yeah im gonna see how soon i can pick that baby up, it looked nice, im sure its crap, but hey,
i figure, that plus a 200watt amp my friend will let me have/borrow since he doesnt have a car

why not you know?

[mckillio]

Technically it is possible, but think about it. If you were going to mount a sub on the back deck, you would loose a good chunk of vision out of your rear view mirror. But (In Theory) You could build a fiberglass enclosure that would fit the bill. If your main concern is space in your trunk, then you can always build a fiberglass enclosure that fills the side "Pockets" in your trunk. But once again, it's all your call.

You've got it all wrong. I would cut a hole in the rear deck and drop the sub in. It would then connect to an amp that is mounted on the back of the seats inside my trunk.

[ninety3lude]

yes exact same idea for me. would that work on a 4th gen too?

[thomas97]

yes exact same idea for me. would that work on a 4th gen too?

anything can work,
it just depends how much
Time, Love, Care, and Frustration you wanna put it!

i can already tell you, for this to work on a 5g your going to need the following;

SH Spoiler [ because you will be taking the rear light out for the sub]
Sub of your choice
Amp of your choice
cutting wheel [something to cut through the rear deck]
Drill for mounting holes
wires and such

id say for the 5g depends on what you do for quality on the parts that could be right up at lets say [$75 sub, $150 amp, $75 spoiler] could be somewhere around that 300, again i guessed.
but you get the idea, i dount think you would loose visability if you dont use a speaker grille thats large, the spoiler would be the only thing in your way!

EDIT;
also keep in mind, theres bars running underneath that deck, theyre bent to avoid the stock speakers, hence why some people have problems with aftermarket ones not fitting,

MEASURE MEASURE MEASURE!

[lilbluelude]

its so much more complicated than you guys are making it.

First off, you have issues with the subwoofer. Your going to need to get a free air sub or build a enclosure for it and somehow mount it up there. That equals more time, effort, and money.

Second, you have a major issues with the torsion bar having to be removed or magically modified. What is the torsion bar? Its the metal bar that runs from one side of the trunk to the other keeping the trunk open and helping it raise up. Theres a bar that connects to each trunk brace and then to the rear deck. This is common on preludes and hondas that have a true trunk (ie. non hatch)

Third, cutting a hole into the metal rear deck might be difficult without removing the rear glass.. Then, getting the subwoofer into that hole with the rear glass.

Then, you have to deal with the rattle created by any powered subwoofer on the rear deck. Its flimsy and will vibrate from normal speakers if the bass is enough.

If you have the ingenuity to overcome these minor issues and the skills to make it work right than go for it. I know I wouldnt have any part in it and I've done some stupid custom things.

It would be much more reasonable to put it in the side panel OR even build a small box in the corner of the trunk.

[thomas97]

lil blue
the only thing i can sugest with the cutting is going in the trunk and cutting upside down,
your then in danger of hurting yourself and your window if you cut through, you would have to temporariy remove those bars to do the cutting, then solve the problem of where they go once thats done.

[Mdtdnb]

its so much more complicated than you guys are making it.

First off, you have issues with the subwoofer. Your going to need to get a free air sub or build a enclosure for it and somehow mount it up there. That equals more time, effort, and money.

Second, you have a major issues with the torsion bar having to be removed or magically modified. What is the torsion bar? Its the metal bar that runs from one side of the trunk to the other keeping the trunk open and helping it raise up. Theres a bar that connects to each trunk brace and then to the rear deck. This is common on preludes and hondas that have a true trunk (ie. non hatch)

Third, cutting a hole into the metal rear deck might be difficult without removing the rear glass.. Then, getting the subwoofer into that hole with the rear glass.

Then, you have to deal with the rattle created by any powered subwoofer on the rear deck. Its flimsy and will vibrate from normal speakers if the bass is enough.

If you have the ingenuity to overcome these minor issues and the skills to make it work right than go for it. I know I wouldnt have any part in it and I've done some stupid custom things.

It would be much more reasonable to put it in the side panel OR even build a small box in the corner of the trunk.

x10. the torsion bar would hands down be the biggest problem. Until you don't have one, you have no idea how much good that thing actually does. And coming from much experience, cutting holes in the rear deck is a big pain in the ass too. even if you cut from the bottom, it is hard to get tin snips in their and jigsaws run the risk of breaking the rear window.

Not only does the custon work throw in a major suck factor, accoustically it doesn't make much sense either. mid and high frequencies respond very well to the riccochet effect off the rear glass. low frequencies on the other hand do not. Obviously subs are very specific to their required enclosure size/ports and all that, but they also need open air in front of them so that the sound waves can form properly. With the rear glass right above the sub, it will cause the sound waves form AFTER they have been distorted by a rapid change in direction (rear glass). Its like you would be compressing all of the sound waves the second they are produced. Basically it will distort faster and the lower frequencies may not even be audible.

we spent a month custom building 3 10s into the rear deck of a 94 accord using a rear-mount box that was to the specs. I think we add about 1200W or so and the final outcome: a $2500 Momo system that sounded like a rigged Jenson setup. great idea but i highly recommend putting a box in the trunk...its easier, cleaner, cheaper, and ALWAYS sounds good. In a sense it uses the trunk space as another box. that is just my 2 cents though. cheers!

[ninety3lude]

what about in the place where a center speaker would go. do you think its possible to cut that out and fit an 8" in there. it would be pointing directly in the middle of your car.

and by sidepanels do you mean like rear seat armrests. is there enough room to mount a shallow sub in there.

i agree with you on the soundwave stuff lol but i think a shallow sub would fix the torsion bar problem.(i dont plan to do this)

[Brash22]

The torsion bar is easily fixed. Just shoehorn a pair of gas struts/hydraulic dampers to the trunk hinges. Problem solvered. Click me! Click me! Click me! (http://www.preludezone.com/showthread.php?t=2174)

The main issue will be the torsional rigity lost by cutting a huge hole in the parcel shelf.

Not sure about over there but if you get pulled up here with a sub in the rear deck, they tell you to weld the hole back up, and take your car off the road until it's done.


Not to mention that after all that hard work to get the enclosure sealed and all that, the sound won't be as good as if you just built a good enclosure and had it in the trunk.

[hojemwod]

what about in the place where a center speaker would go. do you think its possible to cut that out and fit an 8" in there. it would be pointing directly in the middle of your car.

and by sidepanels do you mean like rear seat armrests. is there enough room to mount a shallow sub in there.

i agree with you on the soundwave stuff lol but i think a shallow sub would fix the torsion bar problem.(i dont plan to do this)

It is possible, but if you put an 8" in the center it would be sticking off of each side by about 2". You'd also have to build a sturdy mount behind it. Theres actaully a lot of room behind those rear seat armrest panels..You'd also need to build a sturdy mount because they are just plastic.

It would be easy to cut up the deck with a dremel and cutting wheels! except they run out quickly and make a lot of sparks

[ninety3lude]

how much room are we talkin here? would i still need to get a shallow sub for it to fit in the rear armrest?

i know it would probably take some work mounting that in there sturdy enough in the plastic

[hojemwod]

well if your putting an 8" in there (depending on the magnet size) you might be able to fit it but anything bigger you will probably need a shallow one. I dont know how to remove the panels but it looks like its work. I'd say go out and take some measurements before you do anything.

[ninety3lude]

yeah. im pretty sure im just gonna get a regular box made for the subs. cuz everyone i talk to says jl's are really picky with airspace.

sorry to bug you guys about it when i decided not to even try it. lol hopefully it will at least help someone in the future

[hojemwod]

lol it all good thats probably the best thing to do anyway

[Mdtdnb]

yeah. im pretty sure im just gonna get a regular box made for the subs. cuz everyone i talk to says jl's are really picky with airspace.

sorry to bug you guys about it when i decided not to even try it. lol hopefully it will at least help someone in the future

I just want to say this will definately help people. Big up on this thread.

My input on the 8-inch woofer idea: With a little custom work, it can be done and will sound pretty good if you get the correct airspace behind it and the proper amount of power. However, the easier, cheaper, and better resulted way would be to Dynamat or otherwise sound-deaden the rear deck and put about 75-150 Watts of external power on a quality set of 6x9s. You will get more than enough mid-bass, cut down some road noise and still leave room in the trunk for other options. NOTE: Dynamat can/will add a significant amount of weight for all you racers out there.

[90Lude2.0s]

Sorry guys but the sound of it sounds tacky
and youd have to build some kind of enclosure for it inside the trunk or else it would just sound like crap
id try a fiberglass box or bazooka tubes

[genxx]

This is not that hard to do. Not ruffle any feathers but jess its not rocket science here guys.

The comment about the sub firing into the rear glass and causing adverse effects is a very general statement. If you are having issues it is either box design, asking to much of the subs or you are hearing mechanical noise from the sub.

Many stereo comp guys run them without any problems. It will effect the loudness of the bass if that’s what you are after.

This is generalized but has been proven on more than one occasion, fire the sub to the rear of the vehicle, this will give you the loudest bass possible from you sub.


If you want to do it the easy way and just add some bump then use some Tang Band 6x9 subs they do a pretty decent job of giving you some low end. If you can find a pair of CDT 6x9 subs they are great but very rare.

Here is a link the to the Tang Bands.
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=264-837

[Rob]

Will a 10" or a 12" sub fit in between the 6x9's on the rear deck? I want my trunk still and I think it would look very clean.

Well, I too don't want to loose a whole lot of trunk space. So I have a Alpine M450 mono amp with a NEX looking (purple) 8" Bazooka bass tube. It does take a little bit of room but it also displays well (looks like NOS) and still alot of trunk space left. I'll post pics once I get it installed. Its snowing now and looks like we are getting 3 to 5 inches so install will have to wait.

[Mdtdnb]

The comment about the sub firing into the rear glass and causing adverse effects is a very general statement. If you are having issues it is either box design, asking to much of the subs or you are hearing mechanical noise from the sub.

This is generalized but has been proven on more than one occasion, fire the sub to the rear of the vehicle, this will give you the loudest bass possible from you sub.

If you want to do it the easy way and just add some bump then use some Tang Band 6x9 subs they do a pretty decent job of giving you some low end. If you can find a pair of CDT 6x9 subs they are great but very rare.



If the plan is to mount a sub in the rear deck, the goal obviously is not SPL. the goal would be sound quality. general statement or not, minimal airspace in front of a woofer (i.e. rear glass) will reduce both Db output and sound quality. you are very correct in saying the best sound will come from pointing the sub to the rear of the vehicle. This is because A. the sound waves have space and time to form properly, and riccochet off the back of the trunk, and B. The back seat acts as natural insulation to the low frequencies which prevents SOME of the rattle you would hear otherwise. also, agreed on the 6x9's.

[DJ Prelude]

its really not worth it bro. i was going to take the torsion bars out to put some special 6.5's on the rear deck whose magnets were hitting the bars, but its really not worth it. stick it in the trunk.