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Tue Jul 05, 2011 2:33 pm

Ive got a 74 super beetle. I need to know how big the cargo area behind the rear seat is. I need exact dimensions because im building a sub box. I would measure myself but i dont have the back seats installed right now. THANX =)

Wed Jul 06, 2011 4:28 pm

If you dont need bling and insane levels - get a JBL GTO804 from Crutchfield and build just under a 10" cube and it sits under the rear seat - sounds great and doesnt suck up a lot of power

Fri Jul 08, 2011 9:36 am

I am looking for bling and i need it to hit asa hard as possible. In other cars i dont really need to worry about size because they have a trunk i can put the box into. With my beetle on the other hand i dont have as mutch freedom. I want the box to fit perfectly in the apace and i want to try to get 2 12'' subs in there if they will fit with the box and all. Otherwise ill do 2 10''

Fri Jul 08, 2011 10:23 am

I just measured mine for you: 1' deep, 1' tall, 3' wide. Exact dimensions, EXTERNAL dimensions, take this into account in regards to material thickness. The box fits snug on all sides, and the rear seat back just touches at the top of the box. I glued and screwed all joints (I used 3/4" MDF), then I ran a bead of silicone along all joints on the inside. I insulated the insides of the box with carpet padding, this creates nice clean bass. I am using Cerwin Vega 3-way 6x9s and a 200 watt Kenwood amp with the gain at just over 1/2 way. It hits pretty hard. I mounted the amplifier inside the box, along with all the wiring. I made a small pass-through for the wires which I siliconed in place, then ran them all through one single multi-terminal connector, so if I need to remove it for any reason, I disconnect one connector then remove the whole box, speakers, amp and all. For the top of the box (where the speakers sit) I installed 1/2" thick foam tape and hinged the rear of the box top so if I need to store small stuff, I can put it in there. I made latches for the front to keep the box closed, although the weight of the top is sufficient to keep it down. You may want to try 8" subs first, then go to 10s if it's not enough for you. I only say this because of the small amount of space the box can be, and the small interior cabin these cars have. I don't know how much of a stereo guy you are, but clean sound sounds louder than just loud sound! Hope this helps. :D

Paul

Fri Jul 08, 2011 10:48 am

You have more room in a Beetle than you think for putting speakers. If you get the low profile speakers you can fit them under the rear seat also. Why are you stuck on 12" speakers? Do you just want Bass or do you want a good sounding stereo?
Line you headliner with subs if ya gangsta enough.

Fri Jul 08, 2011 11:08 am

OK thanks guys i think i just might go to a place and get em to do it, this stuff sounds too complicated with the wattage and stuff like that, im kinda a doorknob. THANKS =)

Fri Jul 08, 2011 11:23 am

Not too complicated. My speakers are rated at 100 watts each MAX (total 200 watts), and the amp is rated at 200 watts MAX. Usually you don't want the components to run at max all the time because the sound will become distorted and the amp might overheat, so the gain on mine is set between 1/2 and 3/4, which means on average my speakers are each receiving about 65-70 watts. There is no distortion, they run forever without overheating, and the sound quality is excellent. Insulating the inside of the box was huge. It actually INCREASED the audible bass and it comes out nice and crisp, without echo or buzzing. I prefer clean, balanced sound to overall volume. I am still working on the front speaker setup, but have put that on the back burner to tune the carburetors properly.

Fri Jul 08, 2011 11:30 am

There is no black magic with stereos...just simple numbers and math.

Subs need X cu.ft. of air space in the box, either ported or sealed. The subs should specify a volume range, or the manufacturer website should spec it. Put those volumetric measurements into the building of your box...box is done.

If you get 2 - 500W speakers, that means they are usually 250W RMS each, 500W peak each. Get a 600W -800W amp and never worry about overpowering. Then again, if your signal is that clean you can overpower without hurting...but in the end it is always safer to run a little under.

For such small power, there is not really a need for 1/0 gauge wires and super heavy RCA's...just decent quality stuff.

I bet a single 10" and a 300W amp will give you plenty of headaches! There is not a ton of room in these cars, and they are fairly air tight (when sealed properly). Putting two high powered 12" subs in there is kind of like throwing a boulder in a mud puddle to make ripples when all you need is a pebble. Quality sound always wins, no matter how loud it is.

Then again...here I sit with a vintage Craig tape deck and two worn out Pioneer two-ways in my car. If I put the volume knob over half it sounds like static and garble!

Fri Jul 08, 2011 11:57 am

That was the other thing I forgot to mention; None of the wires going into my box (including the power wires) are over 14 AWG. There is no need for HUGE cables.

Fri Jul 08, 2011 12:43 pm

In mine, I have a box with 2 9" speakers. Just having that, it sounds better than my buddies truck with a sub behind the seat.
He thought I had a sub and amp in my Beetle. Showed him the nines and he could not believe that they put that sound out.
My point is, you do not have to go big when wanting good sounding music. I am just waiting on the speaker kick panels for the fronts and I will be set.

One question to the people that have the speakers in the doors, how do they sound?
Also what is the 4-5" hole behind the door card for? Is it for adjusting the window when you install it or can you fit a speaker in there?

Fri Jul 08, 2011 1:19 pm

I have 5" or 6" speakers in my doors, they do fit where that hole is. Just make sure the depth of the magnet won't interfere with window parts. Right now they sound like crap because A) I don't have ANY sound deadening material in the doors, B) I also have no vapor barrier right now, so they are essentially mounted in a giant tin can, and C) They are only being powered by the head unit which isn't very powerful and the front speakers are cheapies, so the sound quality is marginal at best. I will eventually be installing decent front speakers in the doors, and I have door mounted Bose tweaters out of a 1999 Aurora that will be just above the 5" speakers. The housings are tilted slightly so I can point them where they sound best.

Fri Jul 08, 2011 3:21 pm

Fordman49 wrote:
I bet a single 10" and a 300W amp will give you plenty of headaches!

2 10s would even give kitteh a headache if she wasn't literally deaf.

Fri Jul 08, 2011 4:11 pm

Thanks guys, i need help with the sub box, when i insulate it, what do i do and what else should i do with it. THANX =)

Fri Jul 08, 2011 4:14 pm

Sorry forgot to add this. I need to know how to hook two subs to one amp and how many watts and wire gauge and all that shizzit. THANX =)

Fri Jul 08, 2011 4:24 pm

wiring depends on ohms of subs and what ohm load your amp can handle. if you have 2 4 ohm subs you can run a 2 ohm momo load if your amp can handle it or 4 ohm stereo.

Fri Jul 08, 2011 4:26 pm

check out 12 volt.com it will break down all of you subs, wiring,ohms, bridging and amp connections,,,it will even allow you to search on your sub brand, it is a must for a novice car audio installer. I have 2 12" audiobahns in a box that fits in there nice,,most standard boxes, actually fit in that area behind the seat perfect,, I took my backrest part of the back seat out.

Fri Jul 08, 2011 6:56 pm

There are good bits of info in this thread and IMO some not so good bits of info. The not so good bits lack reasons why.

IMO there are questions that need to be answered before you can get info on how to hook it up and what to buy. What type of music do you listen too? Do you want quality, big bass, or a blend of both? IMO mounting mid range drivers or componets in the doors is just bad. I know almost all cars have this but it isn't good at all for quality. The two speakers facing each other cancel out frequencys and the distance to the listeners ears is drastically differnt, causing bad imaging. The kick pannels is the best place for your mid range speakers and if you can afford the time or cost. Having them imaged will provide the best sound along with no rear speakers except the subs. Reason being is that bass is non directional and you never have band members behind you at any performacne.
I also don't feel that overpowering speakers is possible. MORE speakers are blown from a lack of power. People try to drive them too hard with underpowered amps. You can blow a speaker with just 1 watt of power. Its amps being driven into distortion and clipping feeding your speakers DC current that frys your speakers. More power is always better. You can always turn down the gain on an amp giving you more head room and far better quality sound.

Sorry if this comes off as a rant. That's not what I was trying to do. In the end I believe audio is a great thing. EVERYONE can build their own and tune it to their taste. There is basics and very in depth relms to sound. I haven't touched on the beginning of them and I darn sure don't know it all. Just thought i would throw that little bit out there.

I think you should build your own setup. Just search around and buy what fits you car. Ie..the example of cubic footage on the subs. Good luck and have fun.

Fri Jul 08, 2011 10:58 pm

theres mine, its in a 70 but it measures 11x12x36 11" being the height. big enough for 3 10" subs. cant seem to upload the other one but anyone can pm me and i can email you the blue prints for a vented design that produces the biggest thump for the size. excuse the sloppiness but if you can read it, build it. i ran this one for a while and the sound was amazing.

Sat Oct 08, 2011 3:47 pm

Sorry for digging up an old thread but I'm an audio guy and I was just reading and stumbled across this thread. I figured someone would use the search function wanting to find out about audio and could get some information in their head wrong so I wanted to clear it up real quick.
This is mainly regarding the 'Yellow72' post.
He said that he thinks it is impossible to overpower a speaker...that is definently untrue. Put too much power to your speaker/sub and you fry your coil. Simple as that. He also said that more speakers are damaged from underpowering, which he went on to say that people try to drive them too hard with underpowered amps. Its true that pushing your amp too hard can damage your speaker but about more speakers being damaged from underpowering is impossible, with the proper amp. Im not sure how Yellow72 meant this but if he is implying that with a proper amp it can still damage them, then he is wrong. That would mean that at half volume you are underpowering them and you would be damaging them.Everything else for the most part is okay. Sorry about this rant but I felt I needed to address this.

Wed Dec 07, 2011 4:36 pm

does anybody else have any information on their audio setup for their car? Ive been messign around with alot of audio equipment in my winter beater (1987 mercedes 300e :p) and have a really decent system hooked up and i did all the work myself. Im just wondering where people have put their speakers.