Lotus S2 Elise Audio Upgrade: Custom Subwoofer, Double Din

[vreta]

Finally got pics uploaded of my audio upgrade.

Kenwood DoubleDin Navigation & DVD player in custom-fabricated dash

Focal Polyglass 100VRS 4" Components up front

Focal 5.25" Woofers from 130VRS components

Alpine Type R Shallow 12" Subwoofer

Another view of the sub / enclosure

All powered by a trunk-mounted Alpine PDX amp


Total system weight = just under 37 pounds
I'm not sure what the original Lotus factory stereo + 4 speakers weighs, but subtract this from 37 pounds and you'll have the total net added weight for my audio system.

1 click of seat travel lost. Subwoofer does not hit the back of the seat, even on full cone excursion.
System power: 100WRMS x 4 for each of the dash and rear speakers, 500WRMS x 1 to the Subwoofer.

[Kengine]

I bet that thing BANGS in there.

[vreta]

It's tuned, and accurate sounding, but yes...it BANGS as well =)

[tonymaples806]

That double din setup is exactly what I wanted to do with mine. I ended up going with the power acoustics 9.5" single din/tablet.

I bet this sounds fantastic!

[vreta]

Perhaps other members with a JL Stealthbox install or their own custom sub in their Elise/Exige could chime in here as well...

In my case, the sub seems to play loudest with the hard top on, and both windows rolled down.

With the top off and windows down, certain low frequency notes don't resonate well and seem to dissipate into the surrounding air.

I'm not sure if it's because I have my sub behind my seat, or if it's because there's no roof present to reflect the sub's soundwaves.

Footwell sub-users experiencing this same sound?

[afex]

Originally Posted by vreta

Perhaps other members with a JL Stealthbox install or their own custom sub in their Elise/Exige could chime in here as well...

i dont have a stealthbox, but i'm only chiming in because i have a minor in physics : ) it will definitely sound louder with the top on, and with the windows open you're essentially creating one half of a (really crappy) band-pass box and then sitting inside it. My guess is that the placement won't matter much in terms of SPL outside the car, though you probably end up 'feeling' it more in the driver's seat.

Is that sub enclosure custom, or an off the shelf one? I definitely need to add just a *little* bit of thump to mine, because it was a world of difference when i got back into my DD this winter which has 3x12's in the back

[vreta]

There were no off-the-shelf enclosures for 12 inch drivers, only a nice selection of 8 inch and tiny enclosures for 10 inch drivers.

Agreed. I'm sitting in the bandbass box. Windows on the Elise are big enough so there's no audible "port noise".

I am thinking the foot well in the passenger side might have enough surfaces for sound to bounce around and reflect to create a kind of corner load effect and elevate low frequencies?

I'm not a physics guy, just an audio guy.

[afex]

so its custom fabricated? wow, that is really professional looking!

[vreta]

I was going for a stock look and factory-like finish.

[Drew09]

Wow, the piece for the double din was made? Thats awesome.

[vreta]

Took the shop 7 weeks to complete the install - start to finish.
The Dash portion was a good 2 weeks.