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My stealth sub box

justinf89

Well-Known Member
Joined
April 21, 2010
Messages
141
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City, State
Hampton, VA
Year, Model & Trim Level
'97 xlt 4x4
A few months ago, I installed 4 rockford fosgate 6x8 door speakers(t1682) and a p400-4 amp to power them, and ever since then, I've been wanting more. I saw where some people on here have built stealth sub boxes so that's what I decided to do. I like the stock look and I even hated mounting my p400-4 amp behind the seat, but it fits very well there.

For the sub, I went with a rf r2d4-10(10",250wRMS,DVC) and a rf r250-1d. I chose this class d amp because it was so small as you can see in the pictures below. I calculated my box to be just under 0.5 cu ft so I added 1/2lb polyfill to the box. I've got it all finished except for re-routing my source cables down the other side of the explorer. I'll post back with how it sounds when I get that done, hopefully this weekend.

I wanted to post this just in case anybody had any questions or wanted any more pics before I closed it up. I won't be putting the panel back on for a couple of weeks because I'm going to take the roof liner off to fix the stupid sunroof rattle.

The cost of the amp was $105 and the sub was $45, both brand new on ebay.
The amp will power the sub with 250wRMS at 2ohm.
The box cost $20- 2 sheets of 2x4 3/4" MDF from home depot @ $10 a sheet. It can be made from 1 sheet without mistakes...

PICS!

2012-05-18_15-51-44_379.jpg


2012-05-18_15-52-00_872.jpg


2012-05-17_15-20-44_171.jpg
 



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Dude that looks really good. That was the perfect sized amplifier for the sub. Looks like there is enough room for it to breath. Are you just going to leave the vents in the factory panels? Let me know if you get any vibrations or issues from the panel.
 






Thanks for the compliment. I really spent a lot of time on it, mostly because I'm kinda ocd. I bet it took me a whole day of cutting to get all the angles right and glued together.

I am a little bit worried about vibrations and rattling though, because the box is right up against the trim panel. I'm planning on sitting the box on several dabs of silicone so it will dampen some of the vibrations. I can't do this in the front where it touches the panel though, so I guess I'll just have to see.
 












To get a bit more clearance, you could always sand (slightly) the areas where the enclosure hits the trim piece...
 






That's very nice! I see that sub is only about 4.5" deep. Do you think that's about as deep as you can go?

And how do you like those RF 6x8's? I have the R1682's, and I LOVE the midbass the make with 75w a piece. The highs are a bit lacking, I think simply because the tweeters are so far off axis in the stock door position.
 






NIce job!! Looks clean! Do you have the box dimension or the size of the cut pieces\ that you used?
 






Hey guys, sorry I haven't got back to you. I've been sooo busy lately. Anyway, I got the sub wired up and it sounds simply amazing. I can't believe I waited this long to get it installed! If you are wondering about doing this install, DO NOT HESITATE. There is absolotely no rattling, distortion, etc. When I turn the sub up, I can feel it shake my insides lol. I can't imagine anybody ever needing any more than this or complaining about not enough from a stealth box. Maybe they didn't do it right or something.

@vlad - I appreciate the articles, they are very informative. With both rear side panels off at the moment, the road noise is very loud. I actually had to look back the other day to see if the rear windows were open a little. I think some liner in the walls would definitely help, or at least on the outside of the stealth box.

I haven't put the panel back in but with the box in and mounted, there is no vibrations, rattles, etc. I did test fit the panel and nothing rubs, but I don't know when it's all finished. Like toypaseo mentioned, I'll just round off the corner at the top if need be.

@bobbybobo - I designed the depth of the box around the sub, and added in about 1/4-3/8" behind it. Of course to that depth you add the 3/4" mdf since the sub is mounted above it. I'm not sure what I did but I'll figure it out for you. There isn't much more room extra at all inside. I'm sure if you constructed it well, it could be made out of 1/2" mdf and you could get another 1/2". I know the outer depth of the box is 5.5", and that's about the limit.

@jaschlum - This week sometime when i'm off(birthday on tuesday :) ), I'll go out and take some outside measurements and from that, I can calculate what I used for the inside depth. It's not that hard to pull out but I don't have any fancy computer programs to design it with. You'll have to make due with a picture with writing on it :)
 






Hey is like to see the finish product looks nice
 






Looks great man! I built one very similar last weekend, but it's not complete yet. Mine's slightly different in shape and I used 1/2" mdf because I needed the mounting depth for my sub. It's a tough little spot to build a box for but it looks like you made a good job of it. Can't wait to see it finished.

How do you have yours mounted? I'm thinking of using a few small angle brackets to secure mine.

Here's how mine turned out.
IMG-20121006-01188.jpg
 






Hey thanks guys for the kind words. Yours looks amazing. I kind of with I had used 1/2" instead of 3/4 but I can't complain about anything. It sounds amazing. I will say that how you see it in the picture from before is how it is now. I haven't even mounted it or put the panels back in. I finally got my headliner done and put back in, but now I want to clean the carpets along the edges of the trim. Hopefully I'll have it all back in in about a week or two. I'll post the final results when I do.

For mounting the box, I was thinking of setting it in a small bed of silicone, and some silicone on the back of it. My thought was maybe it will absorb some vibration or something?? I don't know what I want to do yet. Right now it's just sitting in there and slides out every once and a while. It's a really good fit so I'm not too worried. There is no vibration outside or inside, so I'm really happy about that.
 






I would bolt it in somehow, with angle brackets or whatnot. If you get in a wreck or roll your Explorer, I wouldn't trust the silicone to hold it in place, so it's not a missile toward your head...
 






63fe7d25.jpg


I made this a while back. I really like it for saving my cargo space. Mine ended up ugly because I wasn't being very careful with my design. Doesn't bother me though
 






Give me a rough sketch with measurements and I'll draw it up for you. No problem.
I've been wanting to do this for myself anyway and it'd just give me something to go off of.
 






Are you guys using 10" woofers? is there any way a 12 would fit... I have a 12 here I was planning on using but I'm not sure if it would fit...
 






A few months ago, I installed 4 rockford fosgate 6x8 door speakers(t1682) and a p400-4 amp to power them, and ever since then, I've been wanting more. I saw where some people on here have built stealth sub boxes so that's what I decided to do. I like the stock look and I even hated mounting my p400-4 amp behind the seat, but it fits very well there.

For the sub, I went with a rf r2d4-10(10",250wRMS,DVC) and a rf r250-1d. I chose this class d amp because it was so small as you can see in the pictures below. I calculated my box to be just under 0.5 cu ft so I added 1/2lb polyfill to the box. I've got it all finished except for re-routing my source cables down the other side of the explorer. I'll post back with how it sounds when I get that done, hopefully this weekend.

I wanted to post this just in case anybody had any questions or wanted any more pics before I closed it up. I won't be putting the panel back on for a couple of weeks because I'm going to take the roof liner off to fix the stupid sunroof rattle.

The cost of the amp was $105 and the sub was $45, both brand new on ebay.
The amp will power the sub with 250wRMS at 2ohm.
The box cost $20- 2 sheets of 2x4 3/4" MDF from home depot @ $10 a sheet. It can be made from 1 sheet without mistakes...

PICS!

2012-05-18_15-51-44_379.jpg


2012-05-18_15-52-00_872.jpg


2012-05-17_15-20-44_171.jpg




What are the measurements for the wood?
 






Good looking set up... I will want to revisit this thread later if I ever want to throw a ten in my cargo space... Im currently wiring up a 8 inch to a A/D/S PH15 and 642IX.. It will not be as pretty as what you guys are fabricating (just modding a gen 1 box) to fit a 8... So I will definitely revisit this.

Are you just running the RF behind the seat? or do you have have more than one amplifier? nice setup btw.. Box dimensions would be awesome.
 






Great work there guys! I want to do a stealth box soon. This is inspirational.
 






A few months ago, I installed 4 rockford fosgate 6x8 door speakers(t1682) and a p400-4 amp to power them, and ever since then, I've been wanting more. I saw where some people on here have built stealth sub boxes so that's what I decided to do. I like the stock look and I even hated mounting my p400-4 amp behind the seat, but it fits very well there.

For the sub, I went with a rf r2d4-10(10",250wRMS,DVC) and a rf r250-1d. I chose this class d amp because it was so small as you can see in the pictures below. I calculated my box to be just under 0.5 cu ft so I added 1/2lb polyfill to the box. I've got it all finished except for re-routing my source cables down the other side of the explorer. I'll post back with how it sounds when I get that done, hopefully this weekend.

I wanted to post this just in case anybody had any questions or wanted any more pics before I closed it up. I won't be putting the panel back on for a couple of weeks because I'm going to take the roof liner off to fix the stupid sunroof rattle.

The cost of the amp was $105 and the sub was $45, both brand new on ebay.
The amp will power the sub with 250wRMS at 2ohm.
The box cost $20- 2 sheets of 2x4 3/4" MDF from home depot @ $10 a sheet. It can be made from 1 sheet without mistakes...

PICS!

2012-05-18_15-51-44_379.png


2012-05-18_15-52-00_872.png


2012-05-17_15-20-44_171.png
how would i make this box on side walls for 4 12in subs
 



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how would i make this box on side walls for 4 12in subs
You’d build an entirely custom setup? You can’t “stealth” install 4 12s, really.
 






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