Rear cargo area customization / speaker box

I couldn't leave it alone.. While wiring for a subwoofer I took the third row out and put it in storage since I am never going to use it. And also removed the spare tire to reduce weight. (half my commute is on a 5 mile bridge where I'd be calling a tow truck anyway). To my question. Has anyone else removed these and done anything different with the space?

My idea is to build a flatter speaker enclosure in the spot where the folded 3rd row was, and construct a simple hinged deck of the same level over the rest of the area. It would be nice to also add sound dampening back in somehow. So I'd end up with a subwoofer that essentially doesn't sacrifice cargo room, and some covered storage where the spare was (or put the spare back). What do yall think, is it worthwhile?

I think it is- I measured out the space under the floor a few months ago. With the spare tire still in place (or on top of a box) there's about 1.2 cubic feet of space in there once the plastic cargo box is removed. I'm planning on fiberglassing that space in for a box to house my old JL 12w0 and feed it 200w or so. Should sound pretty good without losing any cargo space (I don't use the tray for anything).

My pipe dream is to relocate a full size spare under the trunk and build a simple 10" sub enclosure, ~200 watts. There should still be plenty of space for other junk to keep the visible trunk space clean. Pre-kids, I'd be all over this. Now, all ideas are just pipe dreams... Would love to see what you two come up with.

I have a good number of enclosures that I want to learn fiberglassing for- this one will be completely hidden, so I'll likely attempt it first. We'll see. I do stereo on EVERY car I have, so this one is up next.

Thanks for the feedback. I like those ideas too. I thought the sub would be better in the middle of the car leaving the space where the spare tire was to be easy to reach storage. I don't really plan on needing the sub in arms reach. Although, I might need a new shallow mount sub for my idea to work.

Silent - if it makes you feel better, I'm not sure if my ideas will materialize either. I was already playing with fire installing the amp and sub, with my wife inside with our crying newborn twins. I'll let yall know how it goes if I make any progress on it.

mrwiggs said:

Thanks for the feedback. I like those ideas too. I thought the sub would be better in the middle of the car leaving the space where the spare tire was to be easy to reach storage. I don't really plan on needing the sub in arms reach. Although, I might need a new shallow mount sub for my idea to work.

Silent - if it makes you feel better, I'm not sure if my ideas will materialize either. I was already playing with fire installing the amp and sub, with my wife inside with our crying newborn twins. I'll let yall know how it goes if I make any progress on it.

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Why would this make me feel better. Now I just feel sad for you too (in terms of free time)(sadbanana) But it's all worth it once they start mumbling words and moving around (yes) Gotta keep it in context.


Here's another idea for you two. Right under the front driver and passenger seats, near the floor vents, there seem to be a decent sized cavity filled with hard foam. I 'think' if you take out the foam, you may be able build a small enclosure for a pair of 8" subs. It would prob stick up a tad b/c it didnt feel very deep but space under there is useless anyway. You may have to rerun some duct work to avoid blocking the floor vents.

I LOVE stealth installs as well. This has become my motivation anytime I look at ride and think, hmm, where can I hide a pair of subs without consuming any useable space (headbang).
http://www.miata.net/hakuna/subspeak.html

Yep trying to keep everything in context.

I did find that the AMP fit under the front passenger seat. But I'm probably not going to want alter any more of the interior foward of the second row.

Did find this just now, very similar to my idea over the spare: http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123802369-Box-for-rear-cargo-area

Speaking of stealth. I did add a stealth DC recepticle in the glovebox to power my plug-n-play sirius. It's on switch I added to the console to switch between ACC and all-the-time 12V. I might start a thread on here with pics for that, since I think I saw others question about the DC recepticle. Wasnt too hard and is really handy for pausing Sirius, or recording the Jason Ellis show to a voice recorder with the car off.