Price Estimate Requested

[Ackaroth]

Wondering how much you guys think it would cost to build a box similar to this one:

http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_s...hp?fit_id=1411

If you hover over the picture of the box/center console, you see how the sub is placed. I want one of these for my '89 Jeep Wrangler YJ, to reduce chance of theft at my apartments when I have my top off. I am planning on calling Car Toys to see what they sell them for, as they are listed as a dealer, but I work at a store with an Audio install department and they build custom boxes, and I get discount, so that could be my best route. Cup holders may be a stretch, if I get it built here, but still :)

[NotaSuv]

how much can you get a box built for with your discount?

[exalted512]

A box exactly like that would run you about $400-450 at my shop, including cupholders and console. Theres some fiberglass work that would have to be done to get those contours, which is the reason its so expensive.
-Cody

[busterapco]

I wounder how it sounds...

[Ackaroth]

I am checking how much I can get one at discount today, but from what I heard, the dude will be alot more helpful to me if I come to him with a number, so he can work within it. Called CarToys, they want $950 for that box with sub. I said "Ya, no thanks."

[Jstas]

I am checking how much I can get one at discount today, but from what I heard, the dude will be alot more helpful to me if I come to him with a number, so he can work within it. Called CarToys, they want $950 for that box with sub. I said "Ya, no thanks."

I'm pretty sure you can get the box without the sub. Last I checked it was right around $450. Even if you gotta get a sub, get a W0 or a W3 and unload it on eBay. Somebody will give you most if not all of the retail price. I mean it IS a JL and everybody seems to gush over them because they are so spectacular.

By the way, that last bit was sarcasm.

But play to the lemmings non-sensibilities and let them pay you way too much for a sub. I would.

[Ackaroth]

$450 is still a bit high for a box, to me... I think I could probably get it done here at work for $200-300.

[Jstas]

I wounder how it sounds...

The Stealthboxes actually sound pretty good. They are built very stout and will match your interior exactly. The Jeep center console thing though, it's a little big IMO for the space. It kinda intrudes on the seating space. Knew a guy who had one in his Wrangler with a W7 in it. It was a boomer but one, I didn't like how close the bass was, lotsa reflections off the dash, muddied things up. Besides, it was close enough to the other speakers and put out so much pressure that you could hear it distorting the full-range woofers. Turn the sub off, no more distortion. Two, in the passenger seat, I felt like my left leg was always bumping in to it. In shorts, you couldn't rest your leg on it because the carpet against a knee, especially if you were sunburned, would sting like pins and needles.

[Jstas]

$450 is still a bit high for a box, to me... I think I could probably get it done here at work for $200-300.

Whatever. I'm gonna tell you though that there is a great deal of work in putting that together.

[Ackaroth]

Maybe if I get it custom I could alleviate some of those problems? As far as distortion, not sure what to do about that except put the sub further back in the vehicle, but jeeps are tiny, doesnt seem like it would help much, and putting it in the back just increases my chance of getting it stolen it seems like.

[Jstas]

OK, number one, I am the wrong person to make excuses to about Jeeps.

The sub was a W7 with about 600 watts RMS on it. That was alot of power for a Jeep and since the sub is downfiring and in a pretty confined space, it loads that small area up. A W7 will make some noise if given that much juice. It was honestly too much for the vehicle. Fine if all you want to do is make noise but if you want music, not a good thing.

Secondly, I installed about $2500 worth of stereo in a Jeep with a total wattage pretty close to 1200 watts. That Jeep rode around for 3 years and was parked almost daily in either Camden or Atlantic City, two towns with crime rates that make South Central LA look like a resort town. Not a single thing ever got stolen and even if it was attempted, the thief would hurt themselves trying to get anything out of the Jeep. Dual 8 inch subs, two amplifiers and 6 speakers with a Kenwood D-MASK headunit and SIRIUS tuner/antenna.

[Jstas]

The last Jeep I did.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21734


I've done stereos in 3 other Jeeps besides that one too.

[Ackaroth]

My thing isnt so much my neighborhood man, its the fact that I live at apartments and like to keep my top off. Things grow legs at night :p

I have the original tap deck in there from 89, it has a handle on it so you can pull it out of the little docking bay. One day I walk out and the handle is in the up position, like someone tried to pull it out. I assume they gave up because its old as **** and didnt really appear to be worth the effort. I laughed a bit to myself.

Anyway, I wasn't trying to question your knowledge of jeep stuff at all mate. I have only owned this one since Feb, so I am still new to the scene. But I sure am getting tired to riding to work and back listening to wind. Just spoke to the guy who builds boxes at my job, he said the problem with those is that there isnt a whole lot of space between the seats, that I could maybe fit an 8" sub. He started going off into technical jargon that I wasnt sure about, something about flat pioneers or something. I let him know that it doesnt necessarily have to be a center console thing, I just kinda want to integrate a sub into the jeep and not get it stolen, and so he started telling me about options with screwing through the bottom, special screws that are anti-theft (dont have a normal screw head or something), stuff like that. So I might just end up getting a normal box in the rear of jeep and getting it bolted or riveted to the jeep.

Quick-Edit: I have seen your jeep thread, as well as something Chic's about subs, but while at work I cant see pictures posted on sites other than the few that are available. We have about 20-30 industry related websites, just manufacturers of things we carry. Polk is one of those, which is how I stumbled upon these forums. If you could attach the pics into this thread or PM them or something, I could see them, but they would have to be running through Polks site, basically. Otherwise, I have to remember to look when I get home, but I am not very active on forums after I get off the clock.

[Jstas]

The Jeep in the thread I referenced had the top down often also. But whether a soft top is up or down, what's to stop a guy with a knife from cutting it open? Doesn't take long at all to get into a Jeep.

If you bolt everything down and make the bolts difficult to get to, you won't lose your equipment. Also, hide it. Out of sight, out of mind. Whatever you can't hide, make secure.

Lastly, I wasn't saying you were questioning my knowledge. I was saying that I have yet to do an install in a Jeep and have anything stolen out of it. One guy had his head unit destroyed by a thief who couldn't get it out of the dash because I bolted it to the firewall. That's about it.



One thing everybody needs to understand is that there is no such thing as security. Security is a misnomer. What security is essentially is a series of traps, obstacles and pitfalls that you put in front of something valuable. The whole idea behind security is to make the time and effort needed to get to that valuable thing much more valuable than that valuable thing. There by making the thief look for an easier target. If someone wants it bad enough, they will get it. The idea behind security is to make it so that while they are trying to get to it, you have enough time and evidence to catch them. Either that or the thief destroys the valuable thing in the process thereby making it lose value to the thief. But you have insurance! So even if the valuable thing is busted, it still has value because of your insurance policy.



With that said, use lag bolts with square collars through the bottom of the box. Lag bolts have a rounded head and because of the square collar, do not need a wrench or driver of some sort on the head of the bolt. Bolt the box from the inside. That way the only way to unbolt the box is to go through the hassle of unmounting the sub from the box. Use lock washers and even Loctite if you want. Makes it difficult to break the bolt loose to remove it. Use screws that need an Allen key to be driven in or removed instead of a common screwdriver to mount the sub. You can also use various security head sets or even just a Torx head.

I know that there is not a ton of room between the seats which is why the sub faces down and is mounted far forward in the enclosure. You can mount the sub sideways in between the seats if you get something with a shallow mounting depth. Doesn't have to be slim, either.

Do some research. There are tons of options out there and you are far from the first person to be concerned with security in a Jeep. Also, you need to consider weather resilience when choosing speakers and such. If you have a tendency to leave the top down alot, rain may be a factor you need to consider too. You don't have to go ape**** and get all marine stuff but stuff like the MOMO or DB series speakers from Polk Audio are weather resistant. Some other company's products aren't and it is something to consider. Especially if you are going to go off-roading with your Jeep.

Oh and you're gonna have to remember to check when you get home. I'm not going through the effort to download, resize and upload all of the images. Sorry.

[Ackaroth]

Ah its all good about the pics mate, no worries.

As far as security, I do keep my top off alot, and I dont have a bikini top, so a break in is either breaking a window, or reaching in while the top is off. You present really good points about the value of the item versus the value of their time, I'm just afraid at 2 am, someone has plenty of time to sit in the parking lot of my apartment and toy with my ****. The obvious solution would be to just always put my top back on, but when we take them off, we store them at a friends house about 20 minutes away, as we dont have space for them at the apartments and are still on waiting list for a garage.

You also reminded me that when I get this stuff added, I need to let my insurance company know, but Im not sure how that works, as I have liability insurance. Not sure what sorta theft policy is involved.

[Ackaroth]

Looked at your install at home, and its really cool. Also, dropped by crutchfield online, and there are all sorts of toys I want to put in the jeep now.

Anyone know where I can find a big bag of money?

[Jstas]

Anyone know where I can find a big bag of money?

If you find one, let me know. I've been looking for one of those for myself for a while now.

[Ackaroth]

Ever done anything with marine speakers in a jeep Jstas? The installation guys were telling me about how they put some marine speakers through the floorboard of a jeep one time. Sounded like a cool idea to me.

[exalted512]

Through the floorboard? As in baskets exposed to the elements of the road? Not a good idea.

As far as security goes...how about...oo, i dunno...an alarm?
-Cody

[Jstas]

Marine speakers are not the best stuff. They often have heavy cones made of materials designed to resist salt water environments, not just freshwater. They also have heavier surrounds made from different materials. Consequently, the sensitivity tends to be pretty low and while they do play loud, they don't sound all that great.

The goal of a marine speaker is to be heard in a wide open environment with an infinite baffle type of enclosure like a boat hull. I would not put them in your Jeep. Not only will they not sound good, the will look totally ghetto.

If you want good sound that can stand up to the elements and not cost you an arm and a leg, look no further than Polk Audio's DB series.

[Jstas]

Reported.

Die spammer scum!

[GuitarCrazyo]

Thank you very much.

Now, any word on the difference between list and actual price? 2420 for my 18 kick? GAH

[mesquitehead]

Buy a good alarm maybe. I have actually seen a 1st gen Tundra where the guy cut a hole in the floor of the truck and had a box (fiberglass) fabbed that hung under the truck with the woofer firing upwards. Maybe check out Parts Express and the small Tang Band subs as well. Sad news is you gotta pay to play, or hang out with a skilled installer and pick up some fiberglass skills, a local shop may even let you do an internship of sorts just to have some free help....and you get to learn for free.