Powered Subwoofer Behind Seat
 

Hello all,

I have an Alpine PWD-X5 all-in-one subwoofer laying around that I want to use. I know there are better options out there, but I already have this and just want to fill out some low end frequencies. It obviously won't fit under the front seats because a piece of paper would barely fit there, but I was thinking about mounting it behind the passenger seat in the vertical area behind where a rear seat passenger's legs would be if it were possible for a human to sit in the back seats. It's where the bolt is in the center of each rear seat is located. The front seat would be able to go back 99% of the way this way. My real concern is just wondering if there is anything behind that area that I would need to worry about if I mounted the subwoofer with some screws? I'd look but the weather here is freezing and I don't have access to a garage at the moment. If that is a no-go, maybe someone has some other ideas for placement in the cabin?

Thanks!

I'm pretty sure the gas tank is right there on that part of the frame, and you may risk piercing it by sinking a screw into that vertical section.

Nothing a little hot glue can't fix! Just kidding, I guess that idea is out. I thought about velcro taping it there but in the event of a crash, the subwoofer would probably turn into a nuclear head-seeking warhead.

I took out my spare and put a small sub in its place. I hacked up an old boogie board to hold it in place and support the carpet support dohicky. Works well.

yep. that unit is about 1" too tall to fit under the seat. a PDX amp fits though ;)

so i don't like mounting things with screws and putting holes in my cars. i change things from equipment to my mind too often to make a pincushion out of the sheetmetal.

so i spent way too much time wandering around hardware stores, and came up with a semi-permanent but easily removable solution.

put a piece of plexiglass behind the carpet, and mount the device through the carpet!

t-nuts, 6-32 screws, and plexiglass.

mark holes in the plexiglass to match up with the mounting holes of the device.

drill a hole slightly larger than the 'tit' of the t-nut, so it can poke through the plexiglass.

test-fit that everything fits together, the screws will be long.

mark the length of the screws where they protrude, cut the screws with something like this so that everything fits together, and the screws are as long as they can be without sticking out the back of the t-nut.

after that, i disassemble everything, tape the t-nuts to the plexiglass with electrical tape, and insert it behind the carpet, usually putting a piece of rag slightly larger than the mounting plate between it and the sheet metal to minimize rattling.

using the same drill bit as before, you can mark, and carefully 'drill' the carpet(sometimes just spinning the bit by hand is enough to penetrate the fibers) so the t-nut sticks through in the right spot.

bolt everything up, and it ain't moving.

my pdx amp survived without consequence an accident in my first brz with this method, and a theft in the replacement car-- they found it under the seat, it was obvious they picked, pulled and yanked to no avail.

That is absolutely genius. I will definitely be giving that a try. Thanks!