Has anyone with a 5th gen hacked away at the center portion of the rear seat so they can have their subs directed through the arm rest opening? I want better sound INSIDE the car without having to crank up the subs and make everything rattle. MDF is pretty cheap and I have all the tools, so I wanted to make my own custom enclosure with the subs in a "V" facing through the opening i'd have to make.

Just looking for possible pics and opinions... also, what would be a good thing to use to cover up the edge of the rear seat and carpet where I cut it out? I was thinking the black door edge trim from an auto parts store... ??

 

That's actually an interesting idea. By opening a hole in the arm rest, you actually turn your trunk into a ported box.

 

I already have that going on my 6th gen.
Im using a vented 12' L7 ..
looks sweet. I'll take some pics and show you.

 

The cut out works, I turned my buddy loose in the trunk, and ended up with a false floor with 3 12" and the opening really lets it breath.

 

Yeah, the opening really helps the sound, but I wouldn't have the subs facing into the hole. I'd keep them facing towards the trunk.

 

A lot of guys with BMW's do this because of how well sealed the trunk is from the interior. The absolute key to this kind of install is to make sure that the subs are in fact very well sealed to the cabin of the car. If you don't do this, then you will get a ton of cancellation, and this will sound like crap.

you will also want to play with the phase of the sub to get it to blend well with the rest of the system. There are a lot of sq guys out there with this kind of setup.

 

sounds like a really complex and arduous job... when i hook my sub up, i plan on taking the 6x9's out in the rear deck completely. just leaving it empty and putting the speaker grille back on; it will create a discreet port. i have a coupe... and nobody really rides inthe back too often so the 6x9's dont matter to me all that much (althought i like having more midrange and surround). instead of buying 6x9's i can use that money to buy nicer 6.5's to put in the front and possibly some tweeters.