Step 1: Choosing the Right Equipment

So before I could even start designing my custom subwoofer box, I had to figure out what equipment I wanted to use first.  Outside of brand and sound quality (obviously), these were my main two concerns when choosing which subwoofer to use:

• Size of the subwoofer
• Minimum sealed enclosure volume of the subwoofer

I decided to go with an eight inch subwoofer, to satisfy my size requirement.  So I started researching different eight inch subwoofers, and found that there can be a HUGE difference in minimum enclosure (box) volume.  It seemed that most 8" subwoofers required a minimum enclosure volume of 0.5 cubic feet.  That makes for a bigger box than I wanted!  So I looked a little further, and found the Rockford Fosgate P1S2-8 Punch:

Not only does this subwoofer have great reviews, but it only requires 0.23 cubic feet of enclosure volume!  Furthermore, Amazon was selling it for only $55.  So starting here, I went on to pair it with the right amplifier.

Doing my research, recommendations were to pair this subwoofer with a mono amplifier rated between 150 and 300 watts RMS at 2 ohms.  After shopping around a little bit, I bought the Kenwood KAC-M3001, which is a mono amplifier rated at 300 Watts RMS at 2 ohms, on sale on Amazon for $85:

If you're keeping track, that's $140 for both the subwoofer and my amplifer... well within range of my "keep it cheap" goal!

After finding the right amplifier and subwoofer for my Mazda CX-5, it was time to work on Step 2:  Building the Custom Subwoofer Box.

Welcome to my Mazda CX-5 Subwoofer Blog!

I created this blog as a way to document my design, construction, and installation of my custom subwoofer box, made for my 2014 Mazda CX-5 Touring.

Mazda CX-5 Subwoofer (before wiring)

I decided to document my experience as a way to help other people do what I just did.  The main reason I've created the blog is because I could not find any good information relevant to my situation.  So I hope that this can help you with your project.  And don't worry about being an expert, this was my first custom subwoofer box too!

As a father of two, I couldn't sacrifice valuable space in the back of my CX-5 for a large subwoofer box.  Also (as a father of two!), I didn't want to spend much money on my project, either.  So paying someone to design and install a custom subwoofer box was out of the question.  But that doesn't mean I wanted to sacrifice on quality of design, installation, or (most of all) sound.  So I started researching to see how I could do it all myself.

I knew I was limited on what I could do, given my concern about losing precious space in my cargo area.  Here were my main concerns:

• Subwoofer box had to be as small as possible.
• It had to be as inconspicuous as possible.
• It had to look professional.
• It had to maintain the integrity of the original vehicle (I didn't want to permanently modify my CX-5, harming any potential resale value)
• It had to sound great!

So I started doing my research to come up with my design, based on my criteria.  I started learning about the difference between a sealed and ported subwoofer box (I went with a sealed design, mainly to save on space).  From there, I learned about minimum volume requirements for sealed subwoofer enclosures; matching subwoofers to the right amplifier; wiring techniques; etc.

I've documented my entire experience here in this blog.  So take a look, and please feel free to ask any questions or give some of your own advice/experience as well!