cutout read center console for sub?

[Kulasstar]

i saw a 5 series with the back of the rear center arm rest cut out with a hole right thru the truck. i want to do this but have a sub right where the hole would be. has anyone tried this or know how difficult it would be. i tried looking for that picture online too but i forgot the website.

[Randell]

i saw a 5 series with the back of the rear center arm rest cut out with a hole right thru the truck. i want to do this but have a sub right where the hole would be. has anyone tried this or know how difficult it would be. i tried looking for that picture online too but i forgot the website.

possible, yes, good idea, no.. i run a single 10" sealed MTX sub in my car, and originally pushed it right up against the ski port... only problem was i couldn't hear it at all! pushed it to the rear corner of the trunk and held it down with some velcro, and it sounds a lot better with the sound given some trunk space to reverberate

i've heard of people pushing the port end of a ported sub box up against the ski port with good results, and i've seen a few pictures of E34s with open-air subs bolted directly to the port, though i'm not sure how they sound...

the best i did was putting the 10" in the rear-passenger footwell behind the drivers seat.. it was awesome!

edit: didn't notice your ski port isn't cut out yet.. you can do it with a dremel it's not difficult, the outline for where the hole is supposed to be is already there...

[wingman]

One must understand the purpose of acoustically tuned cabinets and ports to get the most out of them. My apologies for any 'egg-sucking'. A well tuned speaker box will have an acoustically tuned port in order to increase sound pressure level (SPL) For bass cabs you are wanting to get the port to produce sound at the same frequency as the speaker output. If done properly you will be looking at about 3db(A) overall. You are best to get both the speaker output and the port outlet into the vehicle. I recommend Randell's advice and place the thing in the rear of the car and not the boot. In the boot you will get all the 'street cred' of a bouncing boot lid but little of the benefits of the install in terms of frequency response and SPL.

[Johntee540]

This is a highly debated topic - So I will throw a little gas on the fire........

My installer likes to argue the merits between "first generation CD quality and MP3". He STRONGLY believes that MP3 is an inferior quality medium for recording. So we are talking about an incredibly anal guy - holding 6 IASCA Championship Awards for his installs. His current work includes doing all the custom Audio for Ferrari of Washington DC in his shop (Mostly Redskins and Lobbyists).

Purists will tell you that your sub should face towards the rear of the car so that the Bass Wave Soundlength (16') has enough room to reflect and then travel into the cabin of the car for optimal sound.

In the e34 there are several challenges when doing car audio and still maintaining the usability of the car for day to day use.

I have seen IASCA (?) award winning installs where the sub is built into the front of the passenger footwell. I have also seen them where the fender has been removed and then the sub installed behind that firing into the car.

The problem with the trunk install - My choice to do - is that there is a solid steel panel between the trunk and passenger compartment. This severely limits the ability of the Bass wave to travel freely into the passenger cabin without modifcations.

So my solution to the problem was to mount (2) Alpine 12" RDS Subs in a custom Cabinet facing forward. Port them into the Cabin by cutting holes for the box ports in the panel behind the rear seat. Additionally I took out the ski pass. As well as taking a hole saw (for Door knobs) and cutting several (36?) holes in the panel to expose the rest of the faces of the subs to fire through the rear seat.

If you ever get kidney stones - you can sit in the rear seat of my 5 and we can fire some sonic waves through your back to break them up for you.

The results are very adequate. Not IASCA Competition quality - but for my 6 hour commutes to Roanoke VA - or 2.5 hour commutes to Richmond It sounds reallly really fine. I just listen to the odd Mix CD / MP3 or XM Satellite while traveling. The sound quality is good enough to have fidelity while traveling 85 with the windows down and being able to cancel out the sound of the wind. I like it. Hope this helps.

[Felixdacat]

My adventure with adding a sub, was an experience. I decided to cut two 10" by 12" holes in the top of the rear deck, and fiberglassed the deck cover to make a clean custom look. I am running one Alpine type R, a Mark Antony Gspot amp, Mobil spec 1.5f capp. This setup is sweet. If your not afraid of cutting, go at it. you won't be disapointed. The sub is set in the trunk facing back in a custom built box tuned to 28hz.

[RobPatt]

...I just took a bit of 4x4 wood up against the ski panel pass through, beat it w/a hammer and the panel came free, think it was just tac welded or something making it easy to knock out... lined the back side of the cutout w/2inch weatherstrip foam, then butted the infinity basslink up to the foam, strapped that mutha in (front of basslink faces front of car... and good to go... adjust the basslink at will so it sounds nice.... not ghetto, but a nice full sound.... got the basslink for $150 on flea-bay. $5 for weatherstripping. cheers, Rob.