They said it couldn't be done ;)

[TowDawg]

I put a REAL sub in the stock location.

I know some people could care less about the stereo in the Viper, but I wanted something to at least sound decent when I had it cranked up loud enough to really hear when driving on the highway with the top down.

I already had the car apart to install the Autoform bar, so I thought I'd look a little deeper into the sub issue. I already had a custom box in place of the stock one and had a Pioneer shallow 8" in there. It was better than stock, but the shallow design meant it could not actually do much for bass. I had really been wanting to put a real sub in there and JL has always been my preference. I thought about a 8W1, but then said what the hell, let's see if I can a 8W3 and get some real sound. Well, here's the pics! It sounds great! Is it as loud as the 12W6 in the H2? Of course not, but it sounds damn good!

It was a LOT of work and cutting and then I actually had to build the back of the box "from the inside out", if that makes sense. I probably would have never done it if I wasn't already into the car for the roll bar though.

So there you have it. An 8W3 WILL "fit" into the stock location.

 

[limitless]

i put that same sub in my car last year its awesome just have to mod bnx a lil but jl is the best ion my opinion

 

[TowDawg]

How did you get it to fit by just modding the box? Does it stick out through your bulkhead cover?

 

[AbsolutHank]

So....I'll buy your next one you make!!

 

[limitless]

no i just cut the stock box i had my interior done so it helped a lil i just put a 3/4 filler behind sub behind back cover fit perfect theres a lil room to adjust behind bolster

 

[tucker]

Looks good. Passenger floor board foot well subs firing toward the firewall are LOUD and invisible, with no cone distortion that you have firing forward in to your ear. 8W3's work down there too, and the down fire helps the small little sub. For all of those considering a sub, it is a lot less trouble if you don't already have the car apart.

 

[limitless]

i had pics of install cant find my harddrive crashed still trying to get all my pics off ill take a pic of final post soon

 

[TowDawg]

Definitely post some pics when you can. If it can be done without everything I had to do, I'm sure some people would be interested. I just couldn't find the approx 4.75" mounting depth needed.

I'm sure the footwell sub does sound better with area to bounce off of and the fact that it's not right next to your ear, but I'm completely happy with the sound now and didn't have to take up any legroom on the passenger side.

 

[FrgMstr]

It might "fit" but there is NO WAY you are getting the proper amount of air that is needed for that sub to fire to spec. Footwell is the way to go. Takes up a little room, but unless you are dating 6 foot chicks with Adam's apples, you should be OK. I spent a lot of money trying to get the sound out of the stock position and it is just not going to happen.

You must be registered for see images attach

(Obviously not to scale)

Volume (net int.) 0.30 cu ft / 8.5 L
External Width (W) 10 in / 254 mm
External Height (H) 10 in / 254 mm
External Depth (D) 9.5 in / 241 mm

You must be registered for see images

I did use the space for a nice mid-base, and it helps the overall sound of the system tremendously, but it just does not have the air needed to hit properly. Even this less performing JL sub is not right at sub levels.

You must be registered for see images

Then again, maybe you music needs are 180 from what mine are and it works fine for you. But I would be very hesitant about leading people to believe that simply because you can fit it there, means it performs properly.

 

[Black Moon]

I thought you did it with glass and formed the sides and back?

It might "fit" but there is NO WAY you are getting the proper amount of air that is needed for that sub to fire to spec. Footwell is the way to go. Takes up a little room, but unless you are dating 6 foot chicks with Adam's apples, you should be OK. I spent a lot of money trying to get the sound out of the stock position and it is just not going to happen.

You must be registered for see images attach

(Obviously not to scale)

Volume (net int.) 0.30 cu ft / 8.5 L
External Width (W) 10 in / 254 mm
External Height (H) 10 in / 254 mm
External Depth (D) 9.5 in / 241 mm

You must be registered for see images

I did use the space for a nice mid-base, and it helps the overall sound of the system tremendously, but it just does not have the air needed to hit properly. Even this less performing JL sub is not right at sub levels.

You must be registered for see images

Then again, maybe you music needs are 180 from what mine are and it works fine for you. But I would be very hesitant about leading people to believe that simply because you can fit it there, means it performs properly.

 

[FrgMstr]

I thought you did it with glass and formed the sides and back?

Yes I did use glass fitted to the cavity. I was simply posting JL's internal dimensions that are required to give the sub-woofer the proper volume of air behind it to fire properly. We were slightly short of the .3 cubic feet of air volume, but we used a bit of filler in the box to cheat it up a bit. If you look at the basic dimensions of that box in the picture that are spec, you see that you will NEVER be able to get close that in the stock speaker placement. Even the lesser JL woofer I have in there could not get enough air to fire and even sound close to what it should.