THansenite
02-16-2007, 10:24 AM
Since I race my car quite often in the summer time, I wanted to build a system that was fairly light and easily removable if needed. After seeing the box build by Elemental Designs for their SQ-10 sub, I decided that was the way I wanted to go.
I wanted to modify Elemental's design slightly by fiberglassing the curves in the box for more airspace. I had never done any sort of fiberglassing before and consider myself "audio-tarted" because I know very little about building audio systems. Thanks to endless questions to Chris (mandos) at Elemental and some chats with Ben (nebster), I finally got it built.
This is the first attempt at building a box and plan on doing it over with a second SQ-10 later on down the road. Enjoy.
Preface: To those of you that missed my post about trying to get a sheet of MDF home with my tC, go here for a good laugh: http://www.scikotics.com/vb/showthread.php?t=4674
And now...on with the show!
I decided I wanted to mount the sub underneith the false floor in the hatch by building a box to replace the foam storage piece on the passenger side.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0244.jpg
I used this foam piece as a template to outline on the MDF for the top and bottom.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0245.jpg
It is important to note here that the top is shaped differently than the bottom.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0246.jpg
Using my fancy-schmancy new jigsaw and my spare tire as a sawhorse (bad idea), I got the top and bottom cut out.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0247.jpg
I cut the hole in the top of the box for the sub. I cut the hole big enough so the sub could go through it. I did this so that the hatch mat would be able to lay flat across the top of the box. To support the sub, I cut a ring out of MDF that would hold the sub and give me something to screw the sub to. You can see the ring in this picture. Notice I said earlier that using the spare tire as a sawhorse was a bad idea...well, while cutting out the ring, I wasn't paying attention and accidentally nipped the tire with my jigsaw. I realized my stupidity in time (I guess I was stupid for using the tire in the first place) and the tire is OK. Just a little chewed up in one spot. It isn't very deep, but I am keeping an eye on it to be safe. I attached the sides to the top of the box being careful to check to make sure the bottom would align correctly. You can also see how I used scraps of an old T-shirt (Chris' suggestion) to form the curves. I used small chunks of wood to attach the shirt to the underside of the top of the box.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0248.jpg
This shot shows you a top view of how the ring will support the sub so it is flush with the top of the box.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0249.jpg
I am finally able to see what the box looks like with the sub sitting in it. Notice the top of the sub is slightly below the top of the box. I later realized I should have used 3/4in MDF instead of 1/2in. When the sub hits hard, it touches the hatch mat and buzzes. This will be fixed soon.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0250.jpg
Another shot of the sub sitting in the box.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0251.jpg
I attached the bottom of the box using some wood glue and some screws to hold it while drying. I sat my guitar amp on top of the box for some added pressure. Clamps would have been helpful here.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0252.jpg
Almost ready to use my crappy stapler to attach the t-shirt scraps to the bottom of the box. I think I added a few pounds to the total weight of the box with as many staples as I used.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0253.jpg
I didn't take any pictures of fiberglassing because I didn't want to piss off the fiance by getting resin on our good camera. Being my first time ever fiberglassing, I realized how much of a pain in the ass it is. It takes a little getting used to, but after you get the hang of it (and get high off the fumes), it isn't too bad. I did the glassing in my garage when it was about 10 degrees out with a tiny little space heater blowing directly on me and the box. It was not fun. I did each curve at once, laying 3 layers of glass on top of the t-shirt. I used lots of resin between each layer and put on all 3 while everything was still wet. Chris said that this would help everything bond together for a stronger box.
After a little sanding to get the excess glass out of the way, I was finally able to test fit the box in its new home. I was pretty happy with the result considering it was my first time ever playing with fiberglass. (Don't mind all the crap on the top of the box, it will be covered soon.) You can also see how "low profile" the sub it. The thing isn't very deep at all.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0552.jpg
Another look at the box in the hatch.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0553.jpg
And finally, with the sub in it.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0554.jpg
I have been waiting for a NINe.4 amp for several months now since they have been on backorder. I think Chris was about ready to kill me because I had been calling him or messaging him every 3-4 days asking if they were in yet. Yesterday, I attended the Elemental Designs retail shop ribbon cutting. (Left work early to go have fun, haha.) It was great hanging out with those guys and got talking to them about the amp. It turns out, they had a refurbished one sitting around the shop. I said "I'll take it". I was going to go snowboarding after the event, but I decided to hurry home to bring my little sub to life.
I wired everything up to test everything to make sure it all worked.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0555.jpg
I wired up my amp and got my line out converter, thanks Ed (u19v2n). Everything was wired up, the LOC was tapped into my rear speakers, power to the amp, and no sound. Great, just f-ing great. The exact thing happend to my old Jensen amp that is now in pieces thanks to my trusty soldering iron. So I disconnected the LOC and decided to try wiring it in directly behind the head unit. Using some t-taps, I wired it in and tried again.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0556.jpg
It was then I heard a low rumble and a big smile came across my face. ITS ALIVE!!! Notice the mess of wires running to the amp.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0557.jpg
I wanted to clean up the wiring as well as give the amp something stable to be attached to. I used some of the MDF I had left over to cut out a "plug" for the spare tire. It sits in there pretty tightly so I am not scared about it shifting around. I also cut out some notches to run the wiring through. This piece will also be covered soon so it will look better.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0558.jpg
Well, the project is about 95% done. All that is left to do is cover the box and the "amp rack" with some black vinyl to make it look nicer.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0559.jpg
I also need to get some V4 from Elemental to put on the bottom of the box. It sounds pretty bad when it is MDF against the metal in the hatch. For now, I have a few microfiber towels under the box to keep it from hitting metal.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0560.jpg
There are several things I would do differently next time:
-Use 3/4in MDF for the top of the box instead of 1/2in to allow for more cone travel without hitting the hatch mat
-Modify the little notch on the top of the box where the hatch trim piece is for better fitment
-Don't use a spare tire as a sawhorse
-Make the sides a little shorter so that the box is slightly lower than where the mat sits
-Fiberglass in warm weather so that there is some airflow. Fiberglassing in a small, enclosed garage isn't fun with the resin fumes.
This project was a lot of fun and I am very surprised at the sound that comes out of the little SQ-10. I am extremely happy with the Elemental Designs products and the customer service is second to none. I plan on getting a set of their components this spring and recommend them to anyone looking to upgrade their stereo.
I plan on building a new box in the future that looks similar to this one with the fiberglass corners, but I want it to house 2 SQ-10's. I think I will enjoy this setup for a while though before I do that.
I would also like to give a big thank you out to the following people:
-Chris (mandos) - For providing a great product and great tech support. I don't know how many dumb questions I asked along the way, but he was always there to help me out.
-Ben (nebster) - Also answered a lot of questions for me. Plus, seeing your system made me want to have some bass in my car
-Ed (u19v2n) - For the line out converter. Thanks man.
I wanted to modify Elemental's design slightly by fiberglassing the curves in the box for more airspace. I had never done any sort of fiberglassing before and consider myself "audio-tarted" because I know very little about building audio systems. Thanks to endless questions to Chris (mandos) at Elemental and some chats with Ben (nebster), I finally got it built.
This is the first attempt at building a box and plan on doing it over with a second SQ-10 later on down the road. Enjoy.
Preface: To those of you that missed my post about trying to get a sheet of MDF home with my tC, go here for a good laugh: http://www.scikotics.com/vb/showthread.php?t=4674
And now...on with the show!
I decided I wanted to mount the sub underneith the false floor in the hatch by building a box to replace the foam storage piece on the passenger side.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0244.jpg
I used this foam piece as a template to outline on the MDF for the top and bottom.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0245.jpg
It is important to note here that the top is shaped differently than the bottom.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0246.jpg
Using my fancy-schmancy new jigsaw and my spare tire as a sawhorse (bad idea), I got the top and bottom cut out.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0247.jpg
I cut the hole in the top of the box for the sub. I cut the hole big enough so the sub could go through it. I did this so that the hatch mat would be able to lay flat across the top of the box. To support the sub, I cut a ring out of MDF that would hold the sub and give me something to screw the sub to. You can see the ring in this picture. Notice I said earlier that using the spare tire as a sawhorse was a bad idea...well, while cutting out the ring, I wasn't paying attention and accidentally nipped the tire with my jigsaw. I realized my stupidity in time (I guess I was stupid for using the tire in the first place) and the tire is OK. Just a little chewed up in one spot. It isn't very deep, but I am keeping an eye on it to be safe. I attached the sides to the top of the box being careful to check to make sure the bottom would align correctly. You can also see how I used scraps of an old T-shirt (Chris' suggestion) to form the curves. I used small chunks of wood to attach the shirt to the underside of the top of the box.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0248.jpg
This shot shows you a top view of how the ring will support the sub so it is flush with the top of the box.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0249.jpg
I am finally able to see what the box looks like with the sub sitting in it. Notice the top of the sub is slightly below the top of the box. I later realized I should have used 3/4in MDF instead of 1/2in. When the sub hits hard, it touches the hatch mat and buzzes. This will be fixed soon.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0250.jpg
Another shot of the sub sitting in the box.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0251.jpg
I attached the bottom of the box using some wood glue and some screws to hold it while drying. I sat my guitar amp on top of the box for some added pressure. Clamps would have been helpful here.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0252.jpg
Almost ready to use my crappy stapler to attach the t-shirt scraps to the bottom of the box. I think I added a few pounds to the total weight of the box with as many staples as I used.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0253.jpg
I didn't take any pictures of fiberglassing because I didn't want to piss off the fiance by getting resin on our good camera. Being my first time ever fiberglassing, I realized how much of a pain in the ass it is. It takes a little getting used to, but after you get the hang of it (and get high off the fumes), it isn't too bad. I did the glassing in my garage when it was about 10 degrees out with a tiny little space heater blowing directly on me and the box. It was not fun. I did each curve at once, laying 3 layers of glass on top of the t-shirt. I used lots of resin between each layer and put on all 3 while everything was still wet. Chris said that this would help everything bond together for a stronger box.
After a little sanding to get the excess glass out of the way, I was finally able to test fit the box in its new home. I was pretty happy with the result considering it was my first time ever playing with fiberglass. (Don't mind all the crap on the top of the box, it will be covered soon.) You can also see how "low profile" the sub it. The thing isn't very deep at all.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0552.jpg
Another look at the box in the hatch.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0553.jpg
And finally, with the sub in it.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0554.jpg
I have been waiting for a NINe.4 amp for several months now since they have been on backorder. I think Chris was about ready to kill me because I had been calling him or messaging him every 3-4 days asking if they were in yet. Yesterday, I attended the Elemental Designs retail shop ribbon cutting. (Left work early to go have fun, haha.) It was great hanging out with those guys and got talking to them about the amp. It turns out, they had a refurbished one sitting around the shop. I said "I'll take it". I was going to go snowboarding after the event, but I decided to hurry home to bring my little sub to life.
I wired everything up to test everything to make sure it all worked.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0555.jpg
I wired up my amp and got my line out converter, thanks Ed (u19v2n). Everything was wired up, the LOC was tapped into my rear speakers, power to the amp, and no sound. Great, just f-ing great. The exact thing happend to my old Jensen amp that is now in pieces thanks to my trusty soldering iron. So I disconnected the LOC and decided to try wiring it in directly behind the head unit. Using some t-taps, I wired it in and tried again.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0556.jpg
It was then I heard a low rumble and a big smile came across my face. ITS ALIVE!!! Notice the mess of wires running to the amp.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0557.jpg
I wanted to clean up the wiring as well as give the amp something stable to be attached to. I used some of the MDF I had left over to cut out a "plug" for the spare tire. It sits in there pretty tightly so I am not scared about it shifting around. I also cut out some notches to run the wiring through. This piece will also be covered soon so it will look better.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0558.jpg
Well, the project is about 95% done. All that is left to do is cover the box and the "amp rack" with some black vinyl to make it look nicer.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0559.jpg
I also need to get some V4 from Elemental to put on the bottom of the box. It sounds pretty bad when it is MDF against the metal in the hatch. For now, I have a few microfiber towels under the box to keep it from hitting metal.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/SubBox/DSCN0560.jpg
There are several things I would do differently next time:
-Use 3/4in MDF for the top of the box instead of 1/2in to allow for more cone travel without hitting the hatch mat
-Modify the little notch on the top of the box where the hatch trim piece is for better fitment
-Don't use a spare tire as a sawhorse
-Make the sides a little shorter so that the box is slightly lower than where the mat sits
-Fiberglass in warm weather so that there is some airflow. Fiberglassing in a small, enclosed garage isn't fun with the resin fumes.
This project was a lot of fun and I am very surprised at the sound that comes out of the little SQ-10. I am extremely happy with the Elemental Designs products and the customer service is second to none. I plan on getting a set of their components this spring and recommend them to anyone looking to upgrade their stereo.
I plan on building a new box in the future that looks similar to this one with the fiberglass corners, but I want it to house 2 SQ-10's. I think I will enjoy this setup for a while though before I do that.
I would also like to give a big thank you out to the following people:
-Chris (mandos) - For providing a great product and great tech support. I don't know how many dumb questions I asked along the way, but he was always there to help me out.
-Ben (nebster) - Also answered a lot of questions for me. Plus, seeing your system made me want to have some bass in my car
-Ed (u19v2n) - For the line out converter. Thanks man.