Sub box ideas Needed for '01 2-door
 

Here's what I have built so far in my '01 2-door 4x4 Blazer...

My goals were to have it as stock and stealth as possible so lots of planning was needed.

I went with an Alpine head unit, bluetooth, I-pod connectivity, Kicker 6" component system in the doors, Alpine MRV1000 amps and two Kicker Competition 8" subs. Simple, but balanced and it should sound sweet when all installed. The Kicker crossovers are mounted in the side cubbies next to the rear seats on each side to hide them.

Right now, I have everything done except for the sub enclosure and cooling fans on the amplifier false floor box I built. I have the two 3" brushless already which will mount into two cutouts at the rear end of the false floor to allow for ventilation for the amps, but just haven't had the time yet to install them.

I am posting this not only to share..... but to gather ideas for a sub enclosure for my two 8" Kicker comp subs. I would like them to go in the right side wall area to be as hidden as possible. I already removed the interior spare tire rack and tire to be relocated either on the tailgate or roof at a later date.

Any sub enclosure suggestions out there for me? Thanks in advance!

Sorry... just surprised this website is so slow to react. I guess I'm used to using Camaros.net. They are UBER=FAST to help and chime in over there....:icon_worthy:

That is because people with blazers are out enjoying their trucks, and not sitting on a forum. LOL!
But welcome to the forum, you are off to a good start

Lol.... Good point. Thanks... I guess Camaro drivers are used to "faster" vehicles and tend to reply faster. ;) However; I should be more patient with it. This is a great site too. I will wait it out and see who helps.

Anyone? :icon_starwars: It's been 3 days now....:icon_band:

Stealth enclosure in these trucks will be tough, there's so little room to start with and very few places that work out for hiding things like a sub. If you're good at fabricating what about the rear gate? 8's won't require that much space and that is about as big an already empty void as you're gonna find. I'm building an amp rack in the same area you're describing, and that's definitely doable for an enclosure for a pair of 8's as well, but it will be hard to make it very stealthy. Bounce out more of your ideas as well, surely a solution that meets your goals with minimal compromise can be found.

Well--- I was thinking of building a custom fiberglass/wood enclosure to the right of the false floor I built to house the two 8" subs. The subs would have to be positioned on a diagonal... one lower at the rear end of the box, and the other above it on a diagonal at the front end of the box. The box would be an "L" shaped box where the front end of it would creep over the wheel well and be contoured into the rear side panel to blend as best as it could.

Building the sub box into the rear gate scares me for two reasons--although it would save more space for sure....

1. the subs would be exposed to more moisture being in the tail gate
2. I'd most likely have a ton of air leaks using the tail gate as a box--my subs are designed for a sealed enclosure requiring .60 -- 1.25 cu. ft. of airspace.

I can easily picture the tail gate housing the subs, and that would "look" sweet, but those are my concerns above....

That's one reason why I mentioned being good at fabricating. I wasn't referring to using the tailgate as the enclosure, just using it to house the enclosure. With some good marine grade plywood, fiberglass and bit of imagination an actual enclosure could be built inside the tailgate. Preventing any worries from weather related issues and giving maximum space and stealth. Again, it would take quite a bit of work but would be the best route. Building the enclosure on the side in the rear will work, much like the "Custom Sub Box" thread in this section. It's just not as stealthy as you're wanting.

Here's what I decided to do. All I have left is to fiberglass the front portion of the sub enclosure and then paint the entire enclosure to match. I ended up welding a partial "cage" to provide a structure for the fiberglass to wrap around and form for the front portion of the box. Worked out great and I maximized all the free space in the hatch area. Each chamber has .75 cu ft of airspace for the 8" subs. I may just cover it in carpet--not sure yet... Since the wheel well ate up some space in the front-most sub chamber of the box, I had to extend the box forward, flush with the front surface of the rear seat back and around the wheel well--making sure it won't interfere with that seat belt retractor--which it doesn't. Tight squeeze here for two 8" subs. Glad I didn't choose two 10's!

I also installed cooling fans (one blowing in and one pulling hot air out) to help cool the amps under the false floor....

Let me know what you think...

I like it. It's definitely easier than building an enclosure to fit inside the tailgate. You've definitely got fabrication skills tho. It's going to look sweet when it's complete.

Thanks. My welder has become my favorite tool over the past few years and I learned to work with wood as a young kid while tagging along with my father on his home improvement jobs. He was a contractor.

I had fun building it. Unfortunately the rain held me back from finishing it today, but at least I bought the fiberglass supplies this morning so they are ready to go... I'll post more pics as it gets finished.

that false floor comes up a little above your hole cut outs. also that amp is way more than you need for them little 8's especially comps kicker's bottom line sub. i think using the tailgate would have been bad ass for an enclosure. i dont think you would really have a problem with moisture seeing as the tail gate is sealed from the outside when fully closed up. but either way you could have stuck a baffle behind it and siliconed it in place. you take the panel off the tail gate, make your cut outs in the metal and the panel. if it's not deep enough then make your wooden rings and fiberglass out from the panel and recarpet when done. at that point if you were going to recarpet you could put in a cool foam bowtie in the carpet so it's raised in between the subs. and you already have a channel running into for speaker wire. i used to work a lot with kicker. they are a good brand and will only buy them just because i have so much experience with them. have seen a lot of blazer enclosures but i dont know why i never thought of mounting in the tail gate.

Yes-- the sub cut outs are below the top surface of my false floor. I wanted them that way to create more of a blending effect from the floor to the sub box. I plan on peeling back the carpet on the floor and carving out enough clearance for the sub grilles to nestle in there. You'll see--- I'm not nearly finished yet--nor did I state I was.

As for using the tailgate to mount my amps.... I chose not to do that since I use this vehicle daily and didn't want an obtrusive pair of subs impeding on the functionality of the hatch area.... so I chose to tuck them on the side---out of the way. As it sits, I have retained as much hatch area as possible for maximum functionality.

Now-- if this were a second car, or toy for me,... I may have considered creating a sub enclosure using the tailgate. It just doesn't fit the big picture for my intentions and daily needs. I appreciate the input however.

Also--- these lil' 8" subs KICK A$$--especially with all this wattage. They can handle it all bro.... You should hear them pound. I've owned them for over 10 years now and they still rock. Amazing stuff-- "entry level" or not. I love 'em.

love the way its coming together. i had the crazy idea of trying and putting subs in the back seats. literally, unfortunately i lack that know how. on another note we have the same head unit! do you like it?

Subs in the back seats would be incredible! I've always challenged myself with creating a system as stealth as possible--nothing detectable except for the head unit.

Yea--- Alpine has always been a favorite of mine after switching from Pioneers back in the day. The ol' SUPERTUNER" series used to be my favorite. On this Alpine, even though it's one of their low-end models, it has some amazing features.... The adjustments for frequency boosts and HPF's are easy to use and help you tailor the sound to your speakers. I would like to get the bluetooth adapter for it, but will have to wait for spare cash to appear again :) ... This one was actually given to me from a friend who removed it from his 2011 Lotus Evora. It's a factory Alpine stereo for Lotus. We installed a totally custom system in it instead.

all my stuff was given to me, and installed. 2 10 inch bostwick plus subs, polk audio and scosche speakers. powered by kenwood and alpine amps and of course my head unit. cde-102. i wish you didnt have to buy the ipod cable for it. i went ahead and got it. just not sure how to install it.

I bought that cable too. Just plug it into the rear of the unit-- it's the only plug the blue end will fit into. Then run it to where you'll find it most convenient. I ran mine up through the center console and cut a "slot" so it would fit through the CD rack for when I need it. I also made it spring loaded so it retracts back into the CD rack when not in use. Turned out sweet!

If you use the front USB port or auxillary input for the IPOD instead, it will work, but will be much slower and give you less control. The cable from the rear of the unit is the best way to go...

Sounds like you have a nice-sounding system too. I wanted to go with 10's but space was a concern for me and being a little older now (39), 8's are enough. :) They are surprising and impressive actually.

I just spent some time outside coating the inside of each sub chamber with dynamat extreme, installed the speaker box terminals (5-way binding posts for 12 gauge wire), so I can drop it in for a quick test-fit and sound check before doing all the final cosmetic work to the box. I'll post more pics as it finishes.

Okay-- so I fiberglassed the enclosure to give the front-most sub chamber some structure. Then smoothed that out with a roloc, and applied two layers of Bondo body filler and smoothed that out as well. I decided to carpet the entire box to help it blend in to the rest of the hatch area.

First, I notched out the false floor to allow the subs to "nestle" into the floor and look blended in. I used a router and set it at 1/2" depth to give the subs clearance to drop in place. Worked perfectly...

Then, I carpeted the entire enclosure.... NOT EASY with all these curves and shapes to work around-- but it's done. It took lots of cutting, stretching, stapling, and gluing to get it done. I then installed the subs, and the rear binding post connectors to finish it off. I can't wait to hear them finally. (Believe it or not, I am just too tired to throw it in the hatch and try it after working outside in the sun.... so tomorrow's the day!)

**** By the way, these Kicker subs are the COMP series from around 2000, not the cheapies you can get in Walmart today. I remember someone mentioning that they are "low end" so I wanted to mention that. These are the old school COMP series from back in the day.

Looking good. Gotta finish mine up soon too.

Thanks. Got up early today to test it out finally.... will post results soon....:icon_eddie:

Here it is! It sounds awesome and balanced. ... Love it! Check it out:

Looks nice and clean. Was there a reason why the subs aren't a little bit higher up?

Thanks... Sounds even better. Well-- the subs were centered in the box and could've been positioned higher, but as I was making it I thought it would look more custom and unique if they shared space in the false floor too... so it would tie the two pieces together more. (like it's one piece)... I am ordering hard grilles for them to protect the cones.

Ah ok. I had to make up some little bar grills for my sa-8s. Couldn't find exactly find what I needed. Are you going with a bar style?

I just bought these on ebay for $19 shipped for the pair. I like them because they are tight-fitting and require no visible brackets. Keeps it stealth looking. That's been my theme all along... :)

LINK:

PAIR OF 8" SUBWOOFER GRILLE SPEAKER BLACK TUBE GRILLS | eBay

I got the new grilles installed tonight to finally complete the system. I tweaked out the crossovers too before buttoning it all up. Glad it's done...

Just an update.... System still ROCKS! and I even added the Bluetooth adapter to my Alpine head unit for safer hands-free cell phone use. I can also play songs through it too. PRetty cool Alpine unit.

One wish I have for the system... I need a 4-door Blazer instead. I love the 2-door design, but MAN is it inconvenient for having 3 kids!:icon_speaker1:

Plans change... family size has grown... Need to sell Blazer and Sound system. Will sell sound system separately. Just need a day to remove it. Taking Best Offers...

2001 LS 2-door, 130k, 4x4, new Magnaflow complete exhaust system, cold air intake system, thousands in new replacement parts including the steering system, brakes, battery, fuel pump, intake manifold gasket set, valve cover gaskets, 4x4 hub bearings, shocks, MUCH MORE! etc... Interior is SUPER-CLEAN and everything works well in it. ABS light just came on because of a faulty pump relay (junkyard item), and the check engine light is on because of the new Magnaflow exhaust system-- I never had it reset to learn the new exhaust. Easy to do... Taking best offers on the Blazer too.

Thanks guys...

Buy my blazer. Its a 4door

I prefer to buy something locally... Thanks though...

Where is "locally"

Central Florida...

If I could I would. Your Blazer definitely kicks A$$!

How much for the sound system?

Couldn't let it go for anything less than $1,000 for it all. (wiring, 2 amps(RARE), capacitor, subs w/custom box, head unit, fuse under hood)

Damn man, you got skills for days. Looks awesome!

Thanks! I still have the Blazer and still enjoy the system. :icon_speaker1:Never could bring myself to write the classified ad for the Blazer yet. We desperately need a 4-door vehicle still though. 3 kids-- and as you already know-- these 2-doors are only 4-seaters. :confused: