General Custom speaker enclosures

[evmanic]

Despite the lovely roar of my Giardiniera's motor, I've installed a stereo system. I didn't want to cut holes for speakers in the doors, etc, so i decided to put them under the dash / above the wheel wells - I wanted to keep things simple and classic in the interior. But, this required figuring out speaker mounts.

I settled on some small Alpine speakers (S-S40) plus some metal grills and designed some enclosures to 3D print. I didn't want to drill holes in my car, so I used the folded metal of the dash board supports. (While studying the car's interior for non-destructive installation ideas, I noticed the sheet metal is folded back on itself - perfect!) I made a little triangle design on the front of the speaker enclosure that slots in, and the speaker basically hangs there and sits on the wheel well. I'll probably tack them in with some glue or something, but they're surprisingly stable.

I paired them with Alpine's under the seat sub/amp (PWD-X5) and it sounds good enough for me (sounds great actually!). Right now I'm just using Bluetooth to play from the amp, but I'll switch over to my Raspberry Pi infotainment system when I get it finished up. It's all part of my plan to convert to an EV...

Anyway, I thought I'd share in case others wanted ideas for doing something similar. I can post the 3D print designs on Thingiverse if anyone is interested.

 

[gredoeb]

Looks great. Wish I have a 3d printer also.

 

[Bleeding Knuckles]

Despite the lovely roar of my Giardiniera's motor, I've installed a stereo system. I didn't want to cut holes for speakers in the doors, etc, so i decided to put them under the dash / above the wheel wells - I wanted to keep things simple and classic in the interior. But, this required figuring out speaker mounts.

I settled on some small Alpine speakers (S-S40) plus some metal grills and designed some enclosures to 3D print. I didn't want to drill holes in my car, so I used the folded metal of the dash board supports. (While studying the car's interior for non-destructive installation ideas, I noticed the sheet metal is folded back on itself - perfect!) I made a little triangle design on the front of the speaker enclosure that slots in, and the speaker basically hangs there and sits on the wheel well. I'll probably tack them in with some glue or something, but they're surprisingly stable.

I paired them with Alpine's under the seat sub/amp (PWD-X5) and it sounds good enough for me (sounds great actually!). Right now I'm just using Bluetooth to play from the amp, but I'll switch over to my Raspberry Pi infotainment system when I get it finished up. It's all part of my plan to convert to an EV...

Anyway, I thought I'd share in case others wanted ideas for doing something similar. I can post the 3D print designs on Thingiverse if anyone is interested.

Hi evmanic, I too have a similar set up on my 500F although my speakers are small and are just attached with self tapping screws they work for me. The only problem I have is that the stereo needs to be turned up high to hear anything above the exhaust note !!!!!!
Ian.

 

[evmanic]

Cool - have you looked at adding an under seat sub? It really helps fill in the music (and combat the engine noise! ).

 

[Bleeding Knuckles]

Cool - have you looked at adding an under seat sub? It really helps fill in the music (and combat the engine noise! ).

Hi evmanic, to my mind the 500 is not a car for a 'sound system' the noise they make is half the enjoyment and it may be difficult to get a good result without larger speakers.
Ian.

 

[Bounding Bambino]

I have been contemplating the sound situation for my car a fair bit as well. Although i havent even touched the car for restoration yet, I have been planning and collecting parts.


Interior wise it is a very difficult car to do anything audio related and keep it hidden, Yes you could drill holes into panels and recess speakers, but honestly i definitely don't want to do that.


A few years ago i was experimenting with audio transducers for home use, and was very impressed with the overall outcome of them. I definitely plan to try and experiment with these for the fiat. More specifically using the front and rear door card panels as the hidden mounting point.

https://www.daytonaudio.com/product/1248/daex32qmb-4-quad-feet-mega-bass-32mm-exciter-40w-4-ohm

https://www.daytonaudio.com/product/1178/daex25q-4-quad-feet-25mm-exciter-20w-4-ohm

I will be making custom door cards for the car, so the card's frame material will be experimental. But if it works, its better then nothing, with no visible speakers to be seen. A few companies make nice micro blue tooth amps that could be hidden behind the gas tank in the front compartment.

Just an ideal for those who are willing to try something different.

 

[evmanic]

Those look very interesting - cool idea! Keep us posted on how it turns out.