Hey guys

WARNING: may be long and boring for some people, but i am prooud of what i did, so if you want to read then thanks :D if not, photos will be attached :D.

Well i have been n the process of making a custom boot install for my TJ for the last week. And i can tell you i am soo happy that i went to the trouble of doing it properly and doing it myself too, what an experience!!

So i am going to do a full write up including all the stuff i used and what problems and other issues i had. First let me introduce the parts used

18 mm MDF...alot of it - $5 from work (bunnings)
white styrofoamy insulation...for inside the box -left over from old install)
vinyl.. to cover the box ($23 for 1.5 * 1.5)
PVA glue
Liquid nails
3mm MDF board (for dummy panel and false floor)

all up this stuff cost me about $70

tools: Me (i am a TAUL BRO!)
circular saw, jigsaw, planer, sander,
brad nail finishing gun + nails
Staple gun + staples
random cutting & measuring tools.

Sound gear:

1 x sony 500 watt 4 ch amp ($187)
2 800 watt kenwood tornado subs($89 ea)
sub wiring kit ($20)


Okay so i have a kenwood hu that came with the car, and running stock fronts and rears.

Aim: to build a sub enclosure that allowed me to have 2 subs, keep over 50% of my boot space and allow access to the spare and ski hole.

So basically i went for the 2 subs on either side of the ski hole and out at an angle so that i could still get access to the spare.

i took all the trimmings off to see what i would be doing and i measured up all my dimensions (anyone who wants a box like mine, PM me and i will send you my schematics for the boxes).

(1) Then a matter of accounting for the MDF angles and what not, and then to cutting and planing!!

Once all the pieces were aligned and perfect, cut out the holes needed for the subs and wiring.

(2)Then out with the PVA glue and nail gun. I cannot recommend enough a brad nailer to do this with, took me a whole 30 seconds to PVA panels and then nail them down, brilliant using 32 mm c1 brads.

on the inside of the box, liquid nails into the joint gaps (liquid nails is great cause it has characteristics that make it good at sound insulation and limiting air escaping)

(3)Now all the panels are in, doing the insulation, this is where the staple gun is gold! and also measuring the speaker wire and what not.

Test fitting to make sure the box fits into the space (perfect, 2 mm clearance of wheel wells on either side :D).

(4)Then i did a test run of subs and amp (all sweet bar the lil problem in my other thread)

Drove around with it naked cause i had work and uni, but eventually i took it back out, out with the vinyl, now the secret here is to hide all your joins and trim ending where they wont be seen!

(5) I did it so that i had the sub face as a whole piece then everything wrapped around and up and down, can still see where i stapled all of it down in some places, but thats if you know what you are looking for.

(6)Now the amp sits in between the subs and it looks ugly with the wiring, so i made a board up of 3 mm MDF and scored it so as to not BREAK it but make it bend at an angle, covered it with vinyl, and voila a nice cover up from the front and also a nice blend in for the ski hole(7)!!

(8) All done and i am very happy with the result, minor additions will be red neons above, and a silver VR-X badge along the bottom of that false board.

photos are attached. and i would appreciate some comments about it all :D.

BTW for a $350 dollar install i think i did pretty well!! i got about 1.28 CuFt in each enclosure, and it gives me good low end, SQ isnt anything to boast about but i was expecting that, i disconnected the rears stock 6X9's cause they cant handle the power form the HU even. but with some rear balance, i get crisp front sound and sick bass FTW!!


Cheers Shibbs

more photos here

Thanks guys :D

looks good mate :thumbsup:
has that amp got enough air flow so it doesnt over heat?

looks good mate :thumbsup:
has that amp got enough air flow so it doesnt over heat?

Hhmm, gains are set just above zero, but it seems to be goig fine atm, not enough heat to cause any troubles actually, but i might invest in a lil PC fan some time soon.

i would put some mesh in the middle
make it into the mitsubishi logo and paint it red
i reckon it'll look good :D

Nice job, looks professional and very Custom.

good job mate. it looks the goods, hows the sound tho? and it sound better with ski port open or closed?

Thats awesome! :thumbsup:

Pretty wicked design, love how it wraps around the spare well.

just to get some more practice come build me one

Interesting design. I recently finished a boot install in my car. Originally I was going to maintain access to the ski port (by putting a small sealed box to the side), but in the end, I thought screw it - I've never used the ski port and I never will. Plus I don't think I'll ever be in a situation where I need maximum boot space as well as maximum rear seat space.

This is the design I went for, like you I've got just enough room to get the spare out ;) I like your individual/angled design for the subs - I don't think I've ever seen it done quite like that before.

I like it.
Its unique.
And il love your choice of subs, but i dont love your choice of amp.

Hey guys

Thanks all for the positive feedback, i am glad that you guys like it :D

The cubic volume is maybe a tad too much for these weak subs, but the intended alpine Type R's that are destined for this box will be right in thier sweet range, i planned this box first subs later.

As for the amp? well i picked it up for what i thought was a cheap price, i intend to use it later to power all my speakers, cause of its 4 channel ability. the type R's will EACH run off a mono block hopefully, but this is all for one final install.

The sound is pretty good actually, theres less vibrations of the bad kind then my old install, but i still have to sound deaden :( stupid sound deadening takes forever and costs too much!!

With the ski port down, you can hear the twanging of the metal in the boot everywhere, very detracting from the sound, with the port up though, the air has less room to move and the parcel tray goes bonkers!! i have to rectify both of these issues :@ driving me insane.


just to get some more practice come build me one

Funny you should say that :P, my mate took one look at my install and begged and pleaded me to do one like it in his VN :P so you will have to get in line i am afraid!

But guys all the effort was worth it for you guys to give me props for it, thanks a bunch!!

Cheers Shibbs