Not sure that's true with shallow mount subs. Those are designed to be "sandwiched" in narrow spaces.

Of course there are, but not everybody is a fabricating install wizard. You need to keep in mind that 99% of the guys who read these stereo threads like to keep it simple, without sacrificing the integrity of the interior. They're not going to build an enclosure that fills the "void" under the rear seat. They'll buy a Thunderform first.

And an FYI, there is no such "void" on the 2011's, which is why I'll be going with the "poor design".

 

Not trying to give you grief, I hope you don't think that. Just pointing out why it is worth it to spend a little more time when looking at enclosure design. There are thousands of people running enclosures like that in their trucks but that design does have basic flaws that would hamper performance of ANY speaker.

Shallow mounts just have a thin, or shallow mounting depth which makes them ideal for such situations where depth is critical because there is very little room. It's not the actual mounting depth that's the issue here, though - it's the room in front of the speaker that is the problem with those designs.

Those enclosures are designed to fit in practically every bit of available space behind the seat. In doing so the face of the speaker is usually against the seat back when the seat is locked back in position. Before you ever apply power the seat is pressed against the speaker.

If the face of the woofer is against the back of the seat you are losing a great deal of performance from the woofer. As the woofer tries to move it will be moving against the seat (physically striking the seat) in forward travel. Not a good thing for the speaker. If you limit cone movement (excursion) you're limiting sound output (acoustical power). If you lose 1/4 of your cone movement, you lose 1/4 of your acoustical power.

When you trap the speaker in such a way you aren't getting the output of a standard sealed enclosure, but the "effective enclosure" ( by "effective enclosure" I mean the rear sealed enclosure of the actual box combined forward - for the lack of a better term "ported" enclosure created with the back wall of the seat against the woofer) is more along the lines of a 4th order single reflex bandpass design...although not tuned at all.

Electromechanics and air movement/entrapment between the seat and the cone of the woofer come into play.

Example: cup your hands together at 90 degrees from one another so that you have your palms against one another and your thumbs interlocked. Now "cone" one palm a bit and slightly move it back and forth against the other palm. Hear that air whooshing? It's doing so because it's being compressed slightly before finding an exit. That example was just using your hand. Think about the forces and pressures at work when powering a woofer. Then think about the forces created there acting against the woofer when the incoming signal is trying to move the cone forward as air gets trapped and compressed. A woofer playing in a proper operating environment will get warm, even hot. If you deviate from that environment by effectively enclosing the face of the woofer you're making it work harder and increasing heat in the unit which will result in a shortened life span.

If you can get some space between the face of the speaker and the back of the seat it'll be a good thing. Speaker grilles will help but make sure the grilles you choose will allow full excursion from your woofer.

Will it work behind the seat? Sure. It'll provide good sound, too. Just not as much as it could be providing.

When you get your speakers installed do this: Fire them up with the seat against the woofers and listen. Then tilt the seat forward and listen again. You'll have smoother, cleaner, and MORE sound than you did with the seat against the woofers. It's fact.

Again, not trying to give you grief, just saying I would much rather go a slightly more difficult route to have cleaner sound, more output, and a better operating environment for my equipment. This stuff doesn't come cheap so I like to do more with less by optimizing performance.

 

Ok .. so here's the pic I promised on the finished install .. my "poor man's Stealthbox" ....






Again ... this does a pretty decent job of adding bass combined with the speakers that I chose. If turned up too loud, it can create some rattles in the cheap Lariat plastic center console ... this even after I have it mounted with rubber dampers. But with the settings tuned just right, it does fine.

It's totally concealed ... no one would ever no that it's in there. And I wasn't really using the center console space for anything, so I didn't miss the space ... although there's still room in ther if I needed it.

 

Sorry for the delay. Just took another look at this. Awesome job on the install... now you've got me motivated!

As far as hooking up to the stereo, how did you tap into the speaker wires? Is it really as easy as just tapping into them?

Anyone around hear added tweeters to the front speakers? I was thinking of putting some on the pillar, but I'm not sure how to wire them. I'd like to get some component speakers for the front doors with the mids in the doors, and the tweeters on the pillars, but it may end up being too much trouble.

If new speakers and this little kenwood sub will make the stock unit sound better, I may just take the easy way out!