It's not terribly hard to do a cheaper build yourself, but it will take quite a bit of time. I just finished up my stereo build a few weeks ago and I'm thrilled with the way it turned out but I invested a LOT of hours into it. I used a 24" diameter sonotube and fiberglassed the bottom of the spare tire well and then used two sheets of 3/4" mdf to cap the top where a Sundown Audio SA-12 and Eclipse 5 channel amp are mounted. I then built some custom brackets to mount some Image Dynamics 6.5" components into the doors and matching coaxials in the rear deck.
I didn't lose more than an inch or so of my trunk and I think it sounds pretty damn good. It was my first experience with fiberglass and I really think it's something that most anyone who is (somewhat) handy with tools could do themselves over a few weekends. Just something to think about if you're considering going the DIY route.
Fiberglass/mdf ($100) + mid-grade sub ($150ish) + decent amp ($150ish) = ~$400
Stealthbox = $700
It's really up to you how much of your time that $300 is worth.
$300 is worth any amount of time to me lol Not to mention I love carpentry and building things.
That's an interesting idea using sonotube instead of fiberglassing the entire well. I'm looking to get the most I can out of it so I'll be glassing the whole thing. Glad to see someone else on here using a sundown product. I've always been impressed with the performance of the SA series. I plan to test with a SA 15 sealed in the well after trying some custom 8s I've built. I'll also be using ID components up front and everything will be powered by a nine.5
My time worth money. $700 for a stealthbox that installed in 30 mins. Better than trying to make something myself. There's also resale value there.
anything someone builds specific for this car will have the same proportional resale value as long as its quality work. Hell a spare tire enclosure may even fit another cars spare tire well so it would have better resale ability.
I don't think anyone is complaining. Just showing that there are more options out there. We're always looking for "bang for your buck" mods on here. Why not have someone elaborate on the audio side. With enough money you could build a Geo metro to perform better than a Lamborghini...
Correct. No one was complaining. I simply want to enlighten other about the options that are available. I'm all about the best bang for the buck.