I've been bouncing this idea around for some time now and I may be able to tackle it this summer (your winter). I realize that for the most part, the majority of Z owners like to opt for the dual (or single) free standing sub enclosers that tuck into the rear corner(s) of our hatch area. I'd like to stay away from that for a number of reasons that's not necessary to get into now. What I'd like to do is remove that oem 3pc hardboard material that sits just beneath the rear carpet and above the spare tire and replace it with 1/2" or 3/8' MDF and then add to (raise) the already ~ 3" clearance to about 4" to 4.5". From that point I want to install some shallow clearance subs. That MDF will also be made into separate sections so as to create a small semi-sealed enclosure for each sub while still retaining the ability to lift these away if access to the spare tire is ever required (heaven forbid). This would mean sourcing a good quality sub to meet the limited space availability. That being a sub that is 6" to ~ 6.5" max dimeter with ~ a 3" mounting depth. (Sorry for the non-metric measurements) I think I've found one sub that should do quite nicely - Linky. The Focal 5Ws seems to be the perfect sub for my needs although some of the speaker gurus may be able to enlighten me on other options. I'm not looking to vibrate my fillings loose or shake the rear hatch off of it's mount. Rather, I'm looking for that lower HZ range to be filled that's not covered by my MB Quart 6.5" components that reside in the front doors and rear corners. The MB Quarts were only designed to cover a certain HZ range (High/Mid) and so there's a definite lacking in the sound spectrum. I realize that I'll be sacrificing the true potential of those subs somewhat by the mere location of them but it's a case of compromising and not sacrificing usable hatch space in the process. I'd like to add that I haven't been very successfull in finding any retailers of that particular sub that's not in the UK.
Are they 5" speakers? I dont think you would have much success. I think i know what your trying to archive but i dont think these will do it. They are more of a midbass speaker than an actual sub and would probably struggle with sub duties. (even though tehy are called 'subs'). 6" is just to small, the physical limitations of the suspension cant cope with it. . . . Your question is really hard to answer. There is no easy path. I run a single 10" DualVoiceCoi Subl from Peerless and its does the job admirably (with about 800w). Hm you dont really have much choices with 300zx.
I've spent a good portion of today looking into these and similar subs. The 5WS has since been replaced by the Focal 13Ws. You'll find those just about as high profile as one could get. Sadly, those are a bit out of my price range. If an old pair of 5WS do appear, I'd probably latch onto them. However, I have found a few alternatives that are also wiyhtin the same sort of size profile and capability. eD e3.6 JL 6W 3V3-4 Are you familiar with those?
Pioneer shallow subs Not sure how these compare performance wise to the ones you are already looking at as I'm a newbay with car audio But in case you haven't already seen them, I'm tossing up between either trying to put them behind the seats in my 2 seater if it's even possible. Or was thinking of doing a something similar by bringing the boot floor up a bit and putting these in because I don't want the boot floor level with the parcel tray. Link: http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Products/CarAudioVideo/Subwoofers/Shallow#section=overview
CJhooka, Just uploading some pics for your viewing pleasure, re: pioneer shallow mounts <EDIT> Apologies for the hugeness/overexposure... it was a camera-phone Pictures </EDIT>
^^^ That's exactly what I'm trying to stay away from. As I already mentioned a shallow mount sub 5" to ~ 6" or even 6.5" diameter.
Ahh, well perhaps CJHooka will benefit from the pictures The one in my pictures is a shallow mount btw
I take it thats in a 2 seater? Its a little different in a 2+2 but yeah i guess you are just going to have to figure out what you want and where you want to put it. I pefer to have a box suited to the sub specs but am looking to have it somewhere so i can still have room to access the boot if need be. jschrauwen what you want to do sounds really good and will take abit to work out everything but it can be done. Nothing is in possible to do things just take time and brains! Focal is really good but like you said some places its hard to find the sub in which you are looking at. Best of luck tho would love to see pictures of the outcome if you end up doing it all
Cheers, I probably wouldn't want a sub on the parcel tray because mine gets more use than the boot seeing everyday I chuck my school bag & books on there. That being said it looks like that box would easily fit under the cargo blind. Oops sorry my bad didn't read 5" ~ 6.5" maximum. Was referring more to the 8" shallow mount but if that still makes access to the spare tire difficult then scrap that.
I just use the passenger seat for my bag and books I love the amount of bass it gives me, cause its closer I don't need to pump it up too much and it still compliments the music I listen to. (also, the box was custom made by a mate of mine. I think it cost me $120 fully assembled and carpetted. It's perfect for the sub I have. PM me if you want a bit more info) Cheers, Tom
Sounds like a good plan, I don't think anyone will be able to tell you if it'll work or not, so good luck - but from my experience you will need one hell of an amp and one hell of a speaker to handle the kind of power needed to filter the right frequencies that you require. From experience smaller subs give you a much higher resonance frequency, closer to that of 6-6.5" component speakers. To carry frequencies lower than what your component speakers are making, you really do need the enclosure space large, even for a 6-6.5". The idea is to adjust the filter to the sub to below the resonant frequency of the sub, so that you can push the frequencies below that louder without being drowned out by the resonant frequency. The problem with this is that if you want to actually hear the sub pumping those frequencies, you will need much more power to push the sub if the low pass filter is set below the resonant frequency. One could then question the efficiency of such a setup, both on the power consumption side and the amp/speaker life side. On the practical side of things, I have a shallow mount sub in the back of my 2+2, which sounds perfect from inside the car. I've yet to upgrade the 6x9's at the front, but so far it does its job very well. One of the best things I like about the setup is that the sub rebounds off the cabin walls and windows, making up for the sound lost by the shallow enclosure depth. This might play a role in your proposed setup, as the sub will be facing up? Cheers and sorry for the unbearably long text lol Greg.
