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I documented the process of building a custom fiberglass subwoofer box for a Lotus Elise / Exige on YouTube. Below is the link:
Fiberglass Subwoofer Build - YouTube
Jeremy
Fiberglass Subwoofer Build - YouTube
Jeremy
Elise / Exige Custom Subwoofer Build
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685 Posts
OK
Some people need Boom, Bass radios? I like the tune my Stage II puts out.
I out grew that phase around my 25th b-day.
Some people need Boom, Bass radios? I like the tune my Stage II puts out.
I out grew that phase around my 25th b-day.
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8,534 Posts
Nice work. It's not a huge sub.
Adding a small sub (I have the 8" Sound Ordinance behinds seat totally hidden) adds a nice element to the sound. For me it was about rounding the sound out and not boomy. It's light years different.
I put 10k miles a year on my car in Chicago weather. I do any trips over 2 plus hours and being able to comfortably listen to music is a hell of a lot nicer than listening to exhaust
For me, exhaust note is nice, but not for 2 hours
Adding a small sub (I have the 8" Sound Ordinance behinds seat totally hidden) adds a nice element to the sound. For me it was about rounding the sound out and not boomy. It's light years different.
I put 10k miles a year on my car in Chicago weather. I do any trips over 2 plus hours and being able to comfortably listen to music is a hell of a lot nicer than listening to exhaust
For me, exhaust note is nice, but not for 2 hours
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91 Posts
Like the foam idea... Hope your pass seat fits in right with the sub sticking out that far & excursion doesn't rattle against it. Looks good! (other then that plug...)
Mine is reeeal close to the pass seat but doesn't touch...
Who needs the red fleece in the winter anyway :shrug:
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----not thread jacking just posting so you can see depth difference----
Blue devil, Its not like we have 2 15's in the car trying to rattle the next town... Agree w/ SwingLo. I (re)built this car to drive! Spend a lot of time in it for trips for multiple hrs. We can hear the exhaust & motor when we want and music when we don't! I'm kind of an audiophile and a little 8" sub was WELL worth it!!!
Mine is reeeal close to the pass seat but doesn't touch...
Who needs the red fleece in the winter anyway :shrug:
----not thread jacking just posting so you can see depth difference----
Blue devil, Its not like we have 2 15's in the car trying to rattle the next town... Agree w/ SwingLo. I (re)built this car to drive! Spend a lot of time in it for trips for multiple hrs. We can hear the exhaust & motor when we want and music when we don't! I'm kind of an audiophile and a little 8" sub was WELL worth it!!!
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685 Posts
To each their own
The factory radio works fine IMHO, I don't wear earplugs either when driving my car. I enjoy the whole raw experience of it, the roof out 95% of the time. I drove it with wife from East Maryland to Illinois and back the drone a 80+ is annoying so I tried not to go that fast and we took turns driving
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The factory radio works fine IMHO, I don't wear earplugs either when driving my car. I enjoy the whole raw experience of it, the roof out 95% of the time. I drove it with wife from East Maryland to Illinois and back the drone a 80+ is annoying so I tried not to go that fast and we took turns driving
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9 Posts
I'm a big fan of very clean sound and the first thing to go in my Lotus Exige S was the stereo system. Don't get me wrong, my Larini exhaust system is music to my ears but nothing beats a great three day road trip with the LOCO group in Colorado and have great music as well. All the factory components fit back in their original position perfectly. All I lost with this build was a very small recess area behind the seats. With the cage bar behind my seat there was no purpose for the space anyways. The JL Amp was mounted under the passenger footwell area tucked by the heater element. Nothing is visible from outside the car.
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685 Posts
Got thinking
I believe the draw to a loud crisp sound system in you car goes back to the teenage years cause your parents would tell you to turn that sh*t down if you try to listen to it loud in your room. And when you finally get your first car, it's freedom. You can put a system in it and jam it as loud as you want and nobody can tell you to turn it down.
And right around 26 is when I bought my first house and I could jam the stereo system as loud as I wanted if the mood struck and nobody was bothered or told me to turn it down. So in the car now I use the radio as white noise mostly, if a good song comes on I'll turn it up and if it starts to distort I'll turn it down a bit to where it doesn't.
It's just that putting a stereo system in the Elige is against the 10 commandment's, Chapman would be :facepalm :huh: if he saw that. You're suppose to make it lighter not put sound equipment in it. But as I said before do what you will it's your car.
I believe the draw to a loud crisp sound system in you car goes back to the teenage years cause your parents would tell you to turn that sh*t down if you try to listen to it loud in your room. And when you finally get your first car, it's freedom. You can put a system in it and jam it as loud as you want and nobody can tell you to turn it down.
And right around 26 is when I bought my first house and I could jam the stereo system as loud as I wanted if the mood struck and nobody was bothered or told me to turn it down. So in the car now I use the radio as white noise mostly, if a good song comes on I'll turn it up and if it starts to distort I'll turn it down a bit to where it doesn't.
It's just that putting a stereo system in the Elige is against the 10 commandment's, Chapman would be :facepalm :huh: if he saw that. You're suppose to make it lighter not put sound equipment in it. But as I said before do what you will it's your car.
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As far as the 'make it lighter'.
Sorry, but I've owned these cars for 5 years. For random street driving and twisty road spirited fun, does an extra 15 pounds REALLY make a difference?
Hell, I'll get in the car and throw my laptop bag in there (that's gotta be 10 pounds plus). Or I could run my ass around the block a few times and drop 10 pounds.
Or I could only wear a Borat thong and drive barefoot because jeans, a sweatshirt and Lotus mandated Pumas weight 6 pounds.
The point? As you note, make the car yours. If we TRULY want to go around the car, there's probably a bunch of stuff we can eliminate to reduce weight. Ditch the stereo all together. Chuck the A/C. Lose the carpets. Toss the center console cover. Hell, remove the passenger seat as we are usually in these cars solo anyway.
I'm being sarcastic, but the point is that they are cars. Cars that are driven. Cars that are driven require music. Period. Yes, we all love exhaust notes. Exhaust notes for 5 minutes are awesome. Exhaust notes through a viaduct or tunnel are super duper awesome. Exhaust notes for two hour drives suck dong.
One can easily get away with upgraded the stereo to provide a nice pleasurable driving experience with out adding much weight. I put in a better head unit, better speakers and a small 8" powered sub. Probably added 5 pounds in weight total. To offset, I just went extra spicy on the curry and left that 5 pounds in the Kohler!
Oh and to the OP - I hate the baseball stitching on the sub box!
Sorry, but I've owned these cars for 5 years. For random street driving and twisty road spirited fun, does an extra 15 pounds REALLY make a difference?
Hell, I'll get in the car and throw my laptop bag in there (that's gotta be 10 pounds plus). Or I could run my ass around the block a few times and drop 10 pounds.
Or I could only wear a Borat thong and drive barefoot because jeans, a sweatshirt and Lotus mandated Pumas weight 6 pounds.
The point? As you note, make the car yours. If we TRULY want to go around the car, there's probably a bunch of stuff we can eliminate to reduce weight. Ditch the stereo all together. Chuck the A/C. Lose the carpets. Toss the center console cover. Hell, remove the passenger seat as we are usually in these cars solo anyway.
I'm being sarcastic, but the point is that they are cars. Cars that are driven. Cars that are driven require music. Period. Yes, we all love exhaust notes. Exhaust notes for 5 minutes are awesome. Exhaust notes through a viaduct or tunnel are super duper awesome. Exhaust notes for two hour drives suck dong.
One can easily get away with upgraded the stereo to provide a nice pleasurable driving experience with out adding much weight. I put in a better head unit, better speakers and a small 8" powered sub. Probably added 5 pounds in weight total. To offset, I just went extra spicy on the curry and left that 5 pounds in the Kohler!
Oh and to the OP - I hate the baseball stitching on the sub box!
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Thanks for the video clip...it makes me want to go home and TRY fiberglassing on my own now.
I will also say, like others on here...LOVE to listen to music, and I LOVE to listen to the sound of my exhaust note. So I too will have an 8" sub going into my car, for the weight (I need this to be SSM legal in AutoX) as well as for the sound benefit of not having enough low end with 5 1/4" Memphises in the dash and 6.25" Morells in the rear deck.
I will also say, like others on here...LOVE to listen to music, and I LOVE to listen to the sound of my exhaust note. So I too will have an 8" sub going into my car, for the weight (I need this to be SSM legal in AutoX) as well as for the sound benefit of not having enough low end with 5 1/4" Memphises in the dash and 6.25" Morells in the rear deck.
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To answer some of the questions on here:
I am 36, not some 20 year old trying to impress my buddies. I have been building some of the fastest custom cars in Colorado since I was 19.
To those of you who are criticizing those of us who put upgraded stereos in our cars please pay closer attention! We are not building competition BASS systems here! Maybe the grandpas out there need to install a record player in their Elise but for those of us who like clean crisp sound we ditch the crappy stock stereo and speakers. I can offset the weight gained by not wearing a coat! And who cares!!! We are all here because we love Lotus's! As for the weight comments.... I have saved 35lbs removing the stock behemoth muffler and the rear bumper panel alone. My next step is to get a lighter battery and better airflow to my supercharger. I have actually improved the weight distribution in my car (left to right and front to back) and it had been a noticeable improvement in the performance. Next time instead of criticizing us whipper snappers why don't you ask for some suggestions, we might have a few to dole out! You might actually put some miles on your car!
I am 36, not some 20 year old trying to impress my buddies. I have been building some of the fastest custom cars in Colorado since I was 19.
To those of you who are criticizing those of us who put upgraded stereos in our cars please pay closer attention! We are not building competition BASS systems here! Maybe the grandpas out there need to install a record player in their Elise but for those of us who like clean crisp sound we ditch the crappy stock stereo and speakers. I can offset the weight gained by not wearing a coat! And who cares!!! We are all here because we love Lotus's! As for the weight comments.... I have saved 35lbs removing the stock behemoth muffler and the rear bumper panel alone. My next step is to get a lighter battery and better airflow to my supercharger. I have actually improved the weight distribution in my car (left to right and front to back) and it had been a noticeable improvement in the performance. Next time instead of criticizing us whipper snappers why don't you ask for some suggestions, we might have a few to dole out! You might actually put some miles on your car!
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744 Posts
HaHa, this is really funny! I'm 58 and have a subwoofer. oh wait and a amp. Crank it up. Oh and I also have an IPod! Your never to old to listen to good music.
To the OP, good job!
Sent from AutoGuide.com App
To the OP, good job!
Sent from AutoGuide.com App
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402 Posts
Nice job! And whats wrong with a nice rounded out stereo system in these cars? One of my businesses is being a DJ so music is life to me.. I also love the sweet Larini exahust note too at times. But these guys that take the radio out to save ten lbs are vergo type a people that don't know how to enjoy life. Eat one less cheeseburger to so you can feel faster in you car! Lol +1swinglo
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I am 35 with two kids and will have a HUGE 400 watt digital amp and an 8" subwoofer with a dvd player for a deck, because watching videos while i drive is the smart older thing to do.
What a person puts in their car foe stereo equipment is up to them, how they choose to listen to their music is up to them. I would hope however, that most of us who own lotuses would be respectful of those around us when we are listenning to our music, because i would hate to see the elige/evoras be accused of being a "tuners" car and thus gettting lumped in with hondas, nissans, and the such.
We do still own an "exotic", it's design and idea is being copied by many now, because the elige was so successful: i.e. Alfa romero 4c, lambo 6th element, the list goes on, my mind just evades at this moment.
So what a person places in their car is up to them, and how they listen to it, is up to them.
Again props to the OP for a great video.
What a person puts in their car foe stereo equipment is up to them, how they choose to listen to their music is up to them. I would hope however, that most of us who own lotuses would be respectful of those around us when we are listenning to our music, because i would hate to see the elige/evoras be accused of being a "tuners" car and thus gettting lumped in with hondas, nissans, and the such.
We do still own an "exotic", it's design and idea is being copied by many now, because the elige was so successful: i.e. Alfa romero 4c, lambo 6th element, the list goes on, my mind just evades at this moment.
So what a person places in their car is up to them, and how they listen to it, is up to them.
Again props to the OP for a great video.
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347 Posts
I also have a 8" JL Subwoofer and I'm 34.... What does age have to do with enjoying a good quality stereo anyway?
Prior to upgrading my audio all I heard was deafening drone from my de-cat and stage II. Now I barely hear it and i can enjoy the music I love to drive to.
Prior to upgrading my audio all I heard was deafening drone from my de-cat and stage II. Now I barely hear it and i can enjoy the music I love to drive to.
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