E30 Zone

just wondering what was the best direction to fit your subs? i have a coupe and even with 2 12" the low vibrations don't travel that far forward.

Am i better of facing the subs towards the seats or wont it make a difference? also has anyone cut into the rear wall which seals the boot, has this a great deal of difference?

cheers.

You should have a panel welded into the ski hatch, you can pop that out, and that should help the bass travel into the cabin.
But it also depends on what box you have for the subs.

bmws and mercs are a pain to get bass to travel. i fitted 2 12" cerwin vegas to my mates merc (against my own advice lol). i said it would sound cack due to having a solid boot but he wanted them regardless. it sounded rubbish. i took them out and refitted them to his brothers mk3 golf and you could hear him about 2 streets away! same scenario - another guy who wanted a sub in a 318 coupe, just sounded pants inside and loads of bootlid rumble on the outside. as rav said try to take out some of the panel to let the sound flow in, youll be surprised

People also say you can't get bass into a cab, I have with 2x12" in an isobaric custom made box no problem.
It's all down to the box i think.

I always had good bass in my saloon when i used to use a single sub, 10" then 12".

No chopping of the ski hatch either!

I found i got better bass facing the sub toward the back of the car but remember, bass isn't directional.

bss325i wrote:bass isn't directional.

actually dude it is. placing the box in different directions effects how the bass travels and hits. i didnt realise that till i sat on a refresher course lol. if you trowel through mtx or JL audios website im sure youll find something about it.

Iv tried a few different subs,they sound alright when your in the car,but stand outside and it sounds like your driving a bag of nails,everything rattles.

You need someway of releasing the pressure of the bass,iv also tried knocking out the ski hatch,but again the rear seats just counteract this.

I havnt tried this personally myself,but what about porting the parcel shelf?

i have x2 10" subs in a box that fits just right under the rear shelf leaving enough room for a shovel


never had a problem getting bass into the car seating area .the slightly bigger problems were getting the rear reg plate to stop vibrating and finding out where you plug the shovel in

magpie wrote:i have x2 10" subs in a box that fits just right under the rear shelf leaving enough room for a shovel


never had a problem getting bass into the car seating area .the slightly bigger problems were getting the rear reg plate to stop vibrating and finding out where you plug the shovel in

so how did you stop the vibrating? mate

All you need to stop the reg plate vibrating is some thin foam behind it.

Rav335uk wrote:You should have a panel welded into the ski hatch, you can pop that out, and that should help the bass travel into the cabin.
But it also depends on what box you have for the subs.

any pics?

No Ski hatch in cabrios.

BMWE30325 wrote:

magpie wrote:i have x2 10" subs in a box that fits just right under the rear shelf leaving enough room for a shovel


never had a problem getting bass into the car seating area .the slightly bigger problems were getting the rear reg plate to stop vibrating and finding out where you plug the shovel in

so how did you stop the vibrating? mate

dynamat [not dynamite lol] and or some double sided foam tape with a dollop of silicone sealant for good measure.

This isn;t my set up, just copied it of the net.

ok thanks guys

Depends on the BOX
If its sealed box bass is reflected through rear of box and ported is front of the box Isobaric i am unsure same with Bandpass as i have never had those

the box plays the biggest part in bass, but the subs also play a big part too, in my old coupe i ran 2 12'' JL subs, i removed the ski hatch and it made a massive differance but with my cabbie its ofc differant. with a cabbie you have 2 choices imo for nice bass, get 2 good quality subs with the correct capacity box, but you will 99.9% find the box will not fit the boot so you will need to get the box tailor made to the correct capacity, if not it will sound like shite! or grab 2 vibe space 12's, they are a bit dated now but they are great subs and will fit the boot without any problems and still give enough room for some luggage

mrb27 wrote:the box plays the biggest part in bass, . with a cabbie you have 2 choices imo for nice bass, get 2 good quality subs with the correct capacity box, but you will 99.9% find the box will not fit the boot so you will need to get the box tailor made to the correct capacity, if not it will sound like shite!

Not entirely true.
I have a box which "just" fits in my cab boot for 2x12" subs.

Rav335uk wrote:

mrb27 wrote:the box plays the biggest part in bass, . with a cabbie you have 2 choices imo for nice bass, get 2 good quality subs with the correct capacity box, but you will 99.9% find the box will not fit the boot so you will need to get the box tailor made to the correct capacity, if not it will sound like shite!

Not entirely true.
I have a box which "just" fits in my cab boot for 2x12" subs.

you are the lucky 0.01% lol.
tried loads of boxes/subs in the past (used to make my wage fitting systems) in my experiance proper sized boxes for 12's and cabbys dont mix very well, even now the box i have isnt the correct size and dont i know it!!

wait... i have to say my advice is totally based on the fact that you still require 'some' boot space as i do...
vibration is also an issue as gettin the bass through requires the subs to be rely working which in my cabbie causes lots of very much unwanted vibrations

mrb27 wrote:

Rav335uk wrote:

mrb27 wrote:the box plays the biggest part in bass, . with a cabbie you have 2 choices imo for nice bass, get 2 good quality subs with the correct capacity box, but you will 99.9% find the box will not fit the boot so you will need to get the box tailor made to the correct capacity, if not it will sound like shite!

Not entirely true.
I have a box which "just" fits in my cab boot for 2x12" subs.

you are the lucky 0.01% lol.
tried loads of boxes/subs in the past (used to make my wage fitting systems) in my experiance proper sized boxes for 12's and cabbys dont mix very well, even now the box i have isnt the correct size and dont i know it!!

wait... i have to say my advice is totally based on the fact that you still require 'some' boot space as i do...
vibration is also an issue as gettin the bass through requires the subs to be rely working which in my cabbie causes lots of very much unwanted vibrations

All valid points there, I don't have any useable space in the boot, but then i don't use it for shopping.
I have an isobaric box, custom made.

yh rav, id say with my box in place i can still get say a pushchair or a set of golf clubs in the carry bag thing.. not that i carry either of the two lol, but for shopping etc i hate loading the rear seats up. boot space is a must for me.

edit: boot space is a must for the wife

That's why the car is mine and mine alone, insured with me and no other drivers.

She has a ML do to the shopping in.

My Golf clubs go in the front when i'm out.

lol the wife dont drive mine.. hell no, mine and mine alone lol
but i have the honor of driving her around to do the dredded shoppin...
but not for long muhahaha, ive been naggin her to pass her test so she can run about till her hearts content in her polo and leave the cabbie for the pleasure driving

Easy to fit 12 inch in a cab, you just need to think beyond a square box. This set up is 3.5cuft box with a 4x12inch port firing to the side you cannot see. This is the correct set up for the speaker according to the instructions with the speaker. It is very bassy and sounded better facing rearward. Also space for golf clubs or my wakeboard. Don't forget the requirement to reach the spare. This set up now in my coupe, still sounds good.

ok i see what you guys are saying, the plate behind the seat is fully sealed, its not possible to pop anything out as its a solid plate of metal.

out of curiosity is it safe to cut the plate, and if anyone has done it, did it really make that much difference?

i mean the subs i have are pretty decent, its the 1s shown in RavUK's post above. They come in a twin box which slots pretty nicely into the boot leaving me loads of space. sounded brutal in the golf but as mentioned before coupes are a pain to get a decent thump.

since were talking about subs anyway i'd like to say i think amps make the most difference to a sub. my 3-4channels are blown so i've had to run the subs at 4ohms not 2, personally i think this could be the real issue here. Don't really want to be cutting holes f i can avoid it.

hanfi09 wrote:ok i see what you guys are saying, the plate behind the seat is fully sealed, its not possible to pop anything out as its a solid plate of metal.

It's only tacked in place so doesn't come out, it's design like this to allow the ski hatch to be fitted.

I have a 600w 10" sub in a box with a 300w amp powering it.. it's not exactly the best set up but it provides enough bass to hear, a lot better then without a sub. My sub is located against the back of the boot facing upwards. I used to have the same set up in my old cars (mk3 fiesta's and my Corsa workhorse) and it was a lot more bassy but can't say I'm too fussed.

mrLEE30 wrote:Easy to fit 12 inch in a cab, you just need to think beyond a square box. This set up is 3.5cuft box with a 4x12inch port firing to the side you cannot see. This is the correct set up for the speaker according to the instructions with the speaker. It is very bassy and sounded better facing rearward. Also space for golf clubs or my wakeboard. Don't forget the requirement to reach the spare. This set up now in my coupe, still sounds good.

yh, easy to fit 1 12'' sub. 2 of em is a little harder

hanfi09 wrote:

since were talking about subs anyway i'd like to say i think amps make the most difference to a sub. my 3-4channels are blown so i've had to run the subs at 4ohms not 2, personally i think this could be the real issue here. Don't really want to be cutting holes f i can avoid it.

yh ofc the amp will also play a big part, as do the audio leads feeding the sound to the amp, you would be amazed how much better the sound is with a decent set of audio leads, i still say the subs/box play the biggest part.. a better amp will only give it more higher level power. a shite amp will still make it thump, just not as loud as a proper amp ^^
and power caps are a must!!

A little inspiration for you Asad.....



Sod it go all out mate.

mrb27 wrote:

mrLEE30 wrote:

yh, easy to fit 1 12'' sub. 2 of em is a little harder

Unless we are both missing something here the second sub would easily go where I have placed the amp, and giving 1.5-2 cuft per speaker. My point was the cab roof cover is about 12 inches from the floor so not easily possible to stand a speaker up, so using some creativity means you use the "dead" space under the roof, but still maintain a usable boot.


In a saloon car the panel for the ski hatch is not structural and only tacked in place. Use a dremel and small cutting wheel to remove the tacks and it comes out. If you then look for a rear seat back with an armrest there is no need to worry about the seat foam deadening the sound.

the space from the floor to the roof cab is 11.5'' (in my cabby anyway) i found the best results is by facing the sub upwards under the roof box, i have had slanted boxes like yours with 2 12'' subs in but proves a nightmare gettin the spare wheel out, i had to remove my box to get to it before. now i dont, the spare slides out nice and still have room for shopping, job done

I have a single 12" Kicker in my convertible in a relatively small, custom-made box. Coupled with a huge monoblock amp - it delivers way more bass than I need. Loads of people said it was impossible/a waste of time to try to deliver bass into a E30 convertible. My set up proves them wrong.