Has anyone ever tried to install some shallow subs in the back door hatch? and if so how much space is there?

Or has anyone taken the back hatch apart, and if so, any pictures? and what is the depth?

 

Not tried subs there-- not a bad idea actually.

However, having had that panel off to do some sound deading, there is certainly enough room width-wise for a couple 10's if you could make a baffle and seal everything well. There is about 4" of depth at its deepest point.

 

I would love to see this done..

 

just so you know I don't know if you thought about it but, the car is going to vibrate and rattle like crazy. I custom installed 2 infinity 6.5 in my scion XB rear hatch and with the radio at reasonable volume you can here the speakers vibrate the rear hatch, when you standing in the rear. It doesn't bother me to much at all as it's not annoying and normally when I outside with the radio on the hatch is open and it sounds great. With that said thats 6.5 in a car with a larger overall hatch, so if your trying to mount the subs in the actual hatch I would advise against it as it will loosen most of the bolts over time more than likely sound nasty on the out side of the car.

 

I think a good alternative if you are looking not to loose boot space would be to mount them where the cubbie holes are. Or if you don't use the rear seats, do a custom rear seat delete and have the subs installed there, it can look very nice when done properly. I'd be interest to see if it has been done on the MINI but I think there would be many of the same difficulties mentioned by Urban Assault JCW. Also you'd be adding weight on the far side of the rear axle, not good for the performance minded.

 

Yeah I never thought about the vibration to the actual hatch, but then again, I'm not planning on haveing alot of bass either... but it will probably still rattle/vibrate it alot....

How hard would it be to take the hatch apart?

I think that would also be interesting to modify the back seats to have the subs installed in the back of them... curious, how much do back seats cost just in case I decide to see what its like (without ruining the original seats)

Cause If i would to install a sub in one of the back seats, (The driver seat is pretty much all the way back, so no one will usually sit behind the driver) The seat would be less comfortable in the back, but then I would save all my boot space...

My MCS got delayed again at the port... so it looks like I get more time to think about the sub install :D

 

I know someone who had this done ...


See also their car here and their amp install here - this was a school project!

 

Wow, I really like that idea and how it looks. He did a nice job. I wonder how much it rattled, as mentioned.

Here are pics of my rear seat delete sub. No, I did not do this myself.
http://audio-xtc.com/feature.htm

 

Don't know about the rattles - but notice in the pic that Mike has to hold the tailgate up due to the added weight

 

Thats something to consider if you plan on the car lasting you along time how often do you want to have the compents holding the door on upgraded or replaced, if you want to save boot space then I'd assume the boot gets regular use, in which case you'll have to lift that extra weight every time, just something to be aware of.

GBMINI-Thanks for showing the photos, it looks like a very clean install.

 

Hey...with rear subs you won't have to worry about a dirty boot....just rattle the dust and dirt off......

 

Arty13, I don't know if this is an option for you. It was sugested that you do a rear seat delete, I'm seriously considering this when I get ready to do my sub install I'm think a small amount of fiber glass. I want it to be very clean and light or possibly removeable for those day I just need to go fast. Another good point about the rear sear delete is you can save or sell your factory rear seats and the rear seat delete is really cheep.

check it out http://www.rearseatdelete.com

only $99.00 and it can hold 90 pounds in the center and the quaility and fitment is good from what I've heard.

 

FYI, it seems much much more spacious in a MINI without the back seats and cargo space seems like it is increased by 5.

 

If I did a back seat delete, I would only want to delete the drivers side back seat, cause I will have a person sit back there now and then, so i need to keep one seat...

Curious, how much do people sell their back seats for? cause if anything, I might mod one of the seats for a sub, like the part that folds down, might use that for a slimline sub or something like that... but not sure... any ideas would be great... well i should get going to class now...

 

You can't separate the two. The bottom of the seat is one piece.

This is a set up I made before I did the rear seat delete. It sat flush when the seats were down. Now it sits higher than the delete floor so I'm planning to rebuild it and put my other sub in. I have no problem using the space in the hatch, I'm just careful not to put stuff on the sub since I haven't installed grilles yet.

 

I found one with the seats...

 

Okay... but can you seperate the back rest off one of the sides? Because I'm talking about taking the back rest and modding that possibly... tell me if that makes sense...

 

If you remove one back, the other will not be very secure - they share a central mounting point ...

 

I think you can. I know they come out together, but I'm fairly certain you can disconnect them. I'm not sure how stable the single seat will be.

 

Hey buddy, you got the dimension of your box? That's precisely what I wanted

 

Me? I used poster board and some trial and error to cut out a template. I haven't a clue what the dimensions are.