I remember seeing a Firebird in Car Audio magazine back in 95 (showing my age) and it had JL Audio 8W1s in the sail panel area and I was wondering if anyone else here done the same thing. I think he used Great Stuff expanding foam to fill in the area and then cut out a .5 cubic foot chamber. Any thoughts?

 

sounds interesting and a cool stealth look. But where would your 6x9 go then? You want the surround music front and back. If you just got 4x6 and two subs its gonna sound terrible. Bass is just gonna overpower your music.
If you decide to do this and put kickpanels you will still probably get the sound from the front also.. hmm it sounds too good to be true

I think your better off buying one of those smaller stealthy boxes for your car. The 90s third gens all got more room in the trunk for those kind of boxes.

 

Well in the case of that car there were a lot more speakers up front. I started to do it a long time ago, but did not finish to save time so the car would be ready for a show. I am not into bass like I used to be and I want a stealth appearance.

 

I assume they're the thin subs, becuase a lot of 6x9s wouldn't fit without modification.

 

I have seen a couple pics of subs in the sail panels and it was interesting. I like the stealth look and I found several places to hide a sub spare tire well, storage well, and false floor in the trunk. I went with the false floor looking box in my car and I have two Bazooka 10's and I have plenty of room for t-tops if thats an issue. Though mock things up and try to do nothing till you are sure you want to do it because if you want true stealth then build a isobaric box and build a false floor in the trunk area and enjoy never seeing your subs again.

 

crytical, do your t tops clear the amps?
I'm in the process of expanding my clips on the bottom by putting little wooden stands under them. I'll then use a few blocks on the side (carpeted of course) with my amps in the middle. I tested and it should work.

 

if I had T-tops they would fit just fine and I could always move the amps.

 

ah k jw. Mine have been clipped to the front clips and put across the back seats for now. Kinda lose the rear seats that way... at any rate, what I'md oing should work. I'll update with pics at some point, and maybe unbury my old audio thread (It is audio realted after all, letting my subs and amps fit).

 

if you run a nice pair of 6x9 to an amp you will be VERY surprised...i run kicker 7x10 in the back of my cavalier hooked up to a small amp and i have people ask me all the time if i have subwoofers....if your just looking for a little bass and not huge amounts that u want other people to notice just go with a set of 6x9's connected to an amp...

 

Subs belong in those sail panels MUCH more than 6X9's do. It's actually a really nice idea, those panels would be pretty easy to seal up with some sound deadener and a set of shallow 8's would work well. I still don't see how people bear having any form of mid/high range coming from those, the imaging is a NIGHTMARE, it's like having someone screaming in your left ear then screaming 2 foot to the right and behind you. I removed my 6X9's entirely but I may consider throwing some 8's in there to go along with my front stage.

 

I agree with the imaging, I find myself always adjusting the balance to make up for it. I also like the performance of a good tight subwoofer. I have a new pair of old JL Audio 8W1s and they fit in the location with a little trimming. They like a .5 cubic foot enclosure so I am going to use some of that Great Stuff expanding foam to get the size I need. Like I said before, I saw where it was done in Car Audio and I started it but never finished.

 

You should finish it and throw up pics. I'm not sure when I'll get around to doing mine, I still need to pick up a pair of 8's but I'll post pics when it happens.

 

I've run 8's in the sail panel with no issues and they sound terrific. You don't necessarily need a box. I just put some dynamat behind the sub.

 

I have the bose system in my car. I am a long way from changing the radio, but what I have does not sound very good. I might attempt to get what I have fixed or redo the whole set up. I have a wish list of other things first.

I like the idea of putting subwoofers in place of the 6X9s (mine are empty), but since I have the bose speakers in the back hatch area, would that be a good place to locate some 6X9's or should I just put smaller speakers that would fit the grill?

I like the look of the factory sound system, but not the sound. I am sure in 1989 the system sounded decent. At this point, I just want to listen to the engine, but down the road I will want to do something.

Any advice or any input from those that have replaced their bose systems would be appreciated.

 

We have done upto 10"s in the sides in the past, also done upto twin 6.5"s in the sides too but no pic on the PC of them.