Toyota Prius Sub Enclosure - How-To Built-To-Fit Enclosure

I made sure the fiberglass pieces I cut were long enough to overlap onto the lip of the plastic tray mold, to bind the two together and make one solid piece.

This is the rough mold after it was removed from the car.

I made a template and cut a piece of 3/4-inch MDF to fit flush with the front of the bottom part of the mold.

I marked the fiberglass to flush the MDF and trimmed it up.

Then, I cut the 8-inch hole in the MDF and checked the fit.

Another two layers of 3-ounce mat were applied to the inside of the enclosure to bind and seal the MDF speaker mount to the rest of the enclosure.

The outer lip of the MDF face was filled with some silicone to ensure an airtight seal. Twelve-gauge speaker wire was drilled in, mounted, and sealed.

Here is a side and back profile of the finished enclosure. At this point, the true airspace was measured by filling the enclosure with packing peanuts, which were then dumped into a square box and measured. Before I started this project, I roughly estimated 0.4 cubic feet. The true measurement will give me the information I need to properly tune the amplifier. It measured 0.45 cubic feet of airspace after the speaker displacement was subtracted. As it turns out, that was exactly the optimum sealed airspace requirement for the sub.

Here is a side and back profile of the finished enclosure. At this point, the true airspace was measured by filling the enclosure with packing peanuts, which were then dumped into a square box and measured. Before I started this project, I roughly estimated 0.4 cubic feet. The true measurement will give me the information I need to properly tune the amplifier. It measured 0.45 cubic feet of airspace after the speaker displacement was subtracted. As it turns out, that was exactly the optimum sealed airspace requirement for the sub.

The sub was installed. The enclosure was mounted in the car, and the floor was re-installed.

The sub was installed. The enclosure was mounted in the car, and the floor was re-installed.

Then, a grille was constructed out of 5/8-inch MDF and perforated aluminum. It was covered in gray carpet to match the trunk. The grille was mounted to the enclosure with screws that were hidden by the carpet.