Ok, I'm a total newbie to the audio world, so bear with me. I'm great when it comes to twisting wrenches and finding horsepower, but with electronics, I'm a tool. Anyway...

I have a 91 CRX Si. I'm really happy with the deck and the 4, 6.5" speakers in their stock locations, but there just isn't enough oomph. The speakers go really fuzzy once the volume is way up, which is to be expected for small speakers.

My question is about subs. I really don't want to put in a big box, because I live in San Diego, where stereo gear is stolen more often than teenage girls get knocked up. The other reason for not wanting a box is the obvious issue of limited space.

I can think of a few places in the car to mount a pair of 8" subs. If I do not have them in a ported box, will they still sound decent? I don't know how much difference a ported box makes. Will a pair of 8" subs with an amp put enough thump in my car?

I'm not looking for bass that rattles the license plate, makes your heart skip beats or wins competitions. I just want enough low end that I can crank the stereo and hear everything instead of having to settle for 90% treble. Advice is greatly appreciated. Anyone have creatives places to hide boxes? Pics of custom installs? Anything to help out an audio newb?