Making speaker panels for your DSM door (56k warning)

[Marty van den Bosch]

Well, today I made panels for my 6 1/4" Kenwood Excelons in my door panels.

I took pictures along the way.

In a nutshell.

I removed the lower carpeted pieces to use as templates.

I cut the 5/8" MDF about 1/4" smaller than the carpet all the way around so when I glued it back on, it will leave a lip all around to nicely cover the strip of carpet used to hide the 5/8" thickness when complete.

I used 2-1/4" screws so they reach the steel of the door behind the panels.(watch out for the power window wire though!) At this length and location, you will not hit the glass or the power window gear.

Doing this entire project came to about $15 total.

The doors not only hold larger speakers now, but the bass response is much better - and no rattle of the panels.

Note: You can also fit those foam type enclosures behind your speakers this way - I just don't, I don't care for the sound when they are used.

Now the pics...
Before- Just the normal hack-up "cut it to fit" job


Using the carpet as a template for the custom piece


The piece cut from the 5/8" MDF with the 2-1/4" screws sitting in pre-drilled holes


Screwed into place - nice and deep for any size speaker now ;-)


Carpet piece glued back into place (use screws here instead if you want to ever remove your door panel)
You can see where the strip of carpet will need to go, and why I left a bit of a gap. When the strip is in place everything will fit perfectly with the original carpet piece.


The sub box I build last summer (2 independent chambers for the subs and 1 for the speakers) - You can see one of my Rockford amps too (on a carpeted panel beside the box)

[Robin Toor]

man that box in the trunk looks sweet.... you wanna make one for my 2 12" MTX's? I just want a simple box just like that in the trunk, but it has to sit on top of the air tank... let me know...

[Scott Girvin]

nice job!! looks good. I will try and get some pics up as well, I did the same thing to my car about 2 years ago.

[Graeme Shaw]

Holy shit, man, NICE!  What's the box made of?

[John Hartman]

I like that door thing alot.  Lookin good, well made.

Sub box is gonna be way to heavy for my car tho, but nicely done

[Robin Toor]

lol... john's all about the weight of his car...

remember to take that laptop out before you wiegh the car so you can save the 5 pounds!

[Jeff Chau]

very nice! I've always wanted to know where you can buy carpeting like that. you know, stuff that matches your stock interior. anyone?

[Marty van den Bosch]

The carpet I used came from Home Depot. It was a pretty close match, it was thin enough to form around corners etc, and it was dirt cheap.

The current sub-box in the picture (my 2nd one) is made of 3/4" MDF.

I sized and cut the box to fit perfectly against all 4 sides and low enough that I could still toss in groceries, with the carpet on it, I need to gently push down on it to slide down - the fit is that tight.

The box is split into 2 chambers, both are 1.7 cubic feet in air volume - perfect for most quality ported 12" sub-drivers (currently I am using 1-10" and 1-12" sealed-type sub - was planing on changing but they sound great as is)

It was pre-drilled all the way around at 6" spacing, then a bead of wood glue, then screwed with 2" wood screws. Then a bead of silicone around all interior corners

Supplies needed for it were
1 - 4x8 Sheet of 3/4" MDF ($23)
2 yards (by 3) utility carpeting ($5)
1 Weldbond glue bottle ($3)
1 Can generic spray adhesive ($4)
1 tube silicone ($3)
1 box 2" wood screws ($2)
Total = apx $40
You will have left-overs of each item when done.

If you drop in some 12" subs and a good amp though, be prepared to install some vibration counter-measures.
Your car will vibrate inside at weak points in the molding (at full volume I feel my eye sockets shake  :shock:  )  
Usually, a 1lb pound bag of piling (pillow stuffing) from a fabric shop fixes all but the rear-view mirror - for that a tiny rubber splint between the mirror and the frame stops it from making noise though it will still shake too much to see out of it.  :wink:

The angled panel holding the 2 5x7" speakers was an afterthought and added later - it was just formed to the back then bolted to the sub-box.

Sorry Robin, it was fun to make when it's my car, but work when it is someone else's.
I would be happy to help you get the parts and cut up the peices etc though.

[John Hartman]

Marty, I am thinking about making a small enclosure in the area where that amp is visible on the pass side of the rear area.  I have an AWD so the rear area is not as useful, plus I want to keep the weight out as much as possible, while keeping as much space as I can for daily use.

Now, I am thinking a 10" and a small, cheap good amp.  I am already wired for it.

The question is should I port the enclosure, and if so how big and where should I point the port?

other thoughts??

thanx.

[Marty van den Bosch]

Afshin built one there - worked well.

He custom made it out of fiberglass. It went down that pocket too.

That location and the size you can get in there makes it very difficult to properly port an enclosure there, so I would have to say no.

[Michael Cummings]

hey marty looks sweet...if you want ur fwd to get some more traction i suggest takin the sub box out before you go racin