Roll Bar Mounted Subwoofer?

[Machinations]

Is there any reason why a downward firing sub mounted to the top rear corner of the roll structure wouldn't work, or would be a bad idea? You could fit a larger enclosure than the factory location and it wouldn't really take up cargo volume. I've already deleted the rear seat in that area, so that wouldn't be an issue.

It seems like a weird enough placement, I couldn't really find anything about the acoustics of a setup like this. I've seen downfiring subs on the floor and the rare setup mounted about halfway up, but nothing up this high.

I was thinking I could attach a steel plate to the top of the rail and hang the sub from it here while keeping everything pretty rigid.

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[Offroadalliance]

downfiring subs usually require the floor or structure its firing against to create some of the pattern and sound its making. A standard or pancake sub mounted to a cage structure on the roll bar would work, but I think for that effect youd be almost better off buying essentially a UTV or marine application, roll bar mounted, sub/speaker combo.

https://www.klipsch.com/blog/down-firing-vs-front-firing-subwoofer-comparison-guide

 

[Machinations]

Yea, it looks like I would want to avoid anything designed as a normal "downfiring" speaker.

Looking at the marine stuff, these tubular style enclosures are an interesting option, and the mirrored side firing maybe mitigate any odd effect of firing down into the vehicle? The 8" version could even fit behind the roll bar of the 2dr.
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_20646TB102/Kicker-46CWTB102.html?tp=96475


Could also use some traditional "front firing" car sub boxes. My gut says the angled ones facing forward would be slightly better, something like this.
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_136110TGW3/JL-Audio-CS110TG-TW3.html?tp=112

 

[bstottlemyer85]

I came across the following and thought it may work for that.

 

[Hossfire]

Watch this video on sub direction:

 

[Hossfire]

I came across the following and thought it may work for that.

Bazooka makes marine market subs. Also, Kicker makes a couple compact subs that are sealed against water.

In addition to bolts, I would strap the sub to the roll bar.

 

[Hossfire]

Using a Bazooka tube as an enclosure for a better sub only makes sense if you are repurposing a used one.

 

[Hossfire]

Also, check out the DS18 stuff for roll bars.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/bronco-audio-from-ds18.92249/

They have two mounting options for their wake tower pods: clamps that are Bronco specific and a bar that goes across the back that allows standard (round) clamps to attach.

 

[Machinations]

I like the idea of testing the sub at different locations and orientations. With the amount of time/money I'll be dropping into this, a bit more for a mic and optimization makes sense.

I just put in an order for a molle panel that will mount to the top of the roll bars that'll give me plenty of space for experimentation with the sub.

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