Boot Build

[SimonR.]

I've decided to give this a go and use the wheel well as the sub bottom and have the amp built in too.

Am I right in thinking I'd need to sound deaden the floor?

Also I was planning on using the carpet as a rough guide and then doing a trial and error fitment, my mate is helping me out as he does carpentry.

What wood should I use for it?

 

[Toby]

http://www.plush-automotive.co.uk/i...ery&view=gallery&id=35:mk-2-golf-g60&Itemid=4


Check that out...

Your gonna put the amp under the sub in the wheel well?

 

[SimonR.]

Nah I was gonna have the amp next to it but basically have it all level with the wood and most probably put a perspex lid over the amp

 

[Toby]

What and the sub set into the perspex at the same level or below it aswell?

 

[SimonR.]

Smiliar to this guys, except with one 12" sub

 

[Toby]

You have fun with that!

Im just gonna get bass without looking good

Boot builds must be fun to do though, have a blast and keep its updated!

 

[jack_kemp]

If you're thinking of running serious power, you'll need cooling for the amp if it's completely enclosed.

Have you calculated the enclosure volume you need for your chosen sub and frequency?

 

[SimonR.]

I have no idea. Its a 400w rms sub.

I don't want it to be stupidly powerful just look nice and sound good

 

[jack_kemp]

Your amp should be fine with that power.... But using the wheel well for the sub enclosure is a lot more difficult than it sounds. It has to be 100% sealed (except the port if you choose to have one, this also has to be a specific size) and has to be a specific size or it will sound shite and probably die pretty quickly.

I'd say I'd give you a hand but you live miles away. Lol.

 

[SteveS Cup]

This is a lot of work! But if your mate is a carpenter then he should be ok... just give him a few sheets of ply and tell him to crack on!

Seriously though, as Jack said above, you need to work out the volume of the box you need, unless you want it just for show and if it kicks a lil then it's a bonus!

I did a similar system in my old old bmw... it's hard work and a fair bit of trial and error... Sob doing a custom enclosure though... would be easier to stick a 12" box in the wheel well and build a false floor around it!

 

[jack_kemp]

^^^^^ agreed.

Realistically, if you want to put it in the wheel well, you'll need to create a fibreglass shell for the enclosure so it will fit perfectly in the wheel well... This makes it very difficult to calculate the enclosure volume.

Steve's suggestion of just making a standard enclosure and a false floor is a much better idea. Unless you know what you're doing, your original idea is very very hard work and massively time consuming.

I did one of these for someone 2 or 3 years ago, it took me ages to do, even though I knew exactly what I was doing.

 

[TimR26]

If you do a search someone on here has done this and did quite a detailed thread.

 

[Tigger]

Something like this maybe?

 

[jack_kemp]

That is lovely.... A LOT of money spent. Focal equipment is the dogs danglies though.

 

[SimonR.]

Thanks for the comments. I've been reading up and I found that thread, looks useful.

@Tigger - I wouldnt say no to owning that

I'm not sure whether to do the floor install or a fibreglass install using the whole boot as I found a guy that does them for an alright price.

Oh decisions, decions.

 

[Tigger]

The ONLY flaw with that one is no space to put anything if you go anywhere lol

 

[SimonR.]

Well the only time I ever use my boot is just if there's a bag in the car and I don't wanna leave it in sight. Also I rarely ever take rear seat passengers so have all that space too.

Might have a go with a pencil and paper and see if I can come up with a design worth showing off at a few shows next year

 

[Tigger]

Cool - well I do a lot of photography so you can imagine why it's a slight hitch lol

 

[CCrispUK]

Mate done the same thing as you want to do in his MK2 golf, tho his amp is completely hidden, and he lost so much bass with it not being sealed. Unless where the sub sits is completely enclosed then it won't have anywhere near the bass as it does in its box now.

 

[jack_kemp]

^^^^ you'd get more bass out of some decent component speakers than out of a poorly sealed sub. Plus it WILL break your sub. The more I think about it, the more I remember how horrifically difficult it was to do.

Seriously, don't do it. Making a decent fibre glass enclosure is very difficult indeed. The only way for you to do this is make an mdf enclosure that roughly fits in the wheel well and make a false floor with a Perspex window for the amp.

 

[wozzaa]

Fibreglass wheel well build isn't that difficult. Time consuming yes but not difficult. Plus if the box is built too small you can just stuff the box with polyester filling which will trick it into thinking it is in a bigger box. Using most of the well though I reckon it would be about right for a sealed box.

Also fairly easy to calculate the volume. Basic highschool maths, as long as you can remember your volume measurements involving Pi you can work it out.

Just give it a go, done a few builds now myself involving fibreglass. Not hard to do just time consuming. For a boot build like that though you could just get a polyester material and lay it in the well and do that as your first layer, then some chopped strand over it. Reckon you can have the mould done in a day. And the top done the next day. One bit of advice, when you lay the masking tape down etc, put some tin foil between the tape and the matt. Will make it easier to get the mould out. Also worth giving the wood a layer of resin over it, as wheel wells can get a build up a lot of condensation etc. So putting the resin on the wood will basically make it water tight so it won't rot.

Seen people make MDF boxes that fit in the well before and they wonder why they start sounding s**t after a few months. The carpet gets soaked and MDF just ends up falling to bits with the moisture.

 

[jack_kemp]

^^ it's very difficult if you've never done any sort of build before.

Also, calculations using pi will only be accurate if the enclosure is a perfect cylinder, which it won't be.