sudohawk's 2017 Chevy Colorado Build

Hello all,

Just starting out on what will be a long and drawn out build (no rush lol) and I apologize if my thread starts out unorganized. Just going to try and get everything down right now and I can tailor it or fill in the blanks later. Ultimately my 2017 Chevy Colorado with BOSE is lacking in bass and SQ. I plan on doing upgrades in phases, as I'm not opposed to saving up over time to get what I'll be happy with. I'll be seeking to improve the bass department first then later on I'll seek SQ inprovements. I'm the type of person that doesn't like to do things twice if I can avoid it and if that means saving up for something that'll be needed later on down the road to get to my final goal then I'd prefer to take extra time to go down that route vs buying parts that'll be replaced just to get something done quicker but only for immediate goals. One other bit about me which comes into play is I can be very OCD about how some things look and I'm aiming for things to look OEM with my build.

That said, I'm building my own sub box since none of the prefab ones are to my liking. Being a small pickup truck, there's not much space for a sub box setup. Under the back seat is really the only option (for me). The prefab boxes all seem to have sharp 90 degree corners which stick out (slightly) past the rounded seat cushions above them. I've designed my box to fit under the seat and will house 1 - 2 subs. The box will be designed for 2 subs but to start with I will fab one MDF blocker plate that'll seal/block one of the mounting holes. This should allow me the flexibility to add onto the system later on if I'm not happy with the performance of one sub. My box will be down firing which should give the subs a little better protection from someone sitting on the rear seats and causing the undersides to droop into the excursion path if they were upfiring. Not much space down there but using 3/4 MDF (overkill?) my design was coming up with a touch over 1 cubic foot internally. The way I got that volume will be on the low end since the outer most edges would have more volume that I hadn't designed/calculated yet. I've started on my box build but I'm getting to the point where I'll need to make a sub purchase before getting much further so I don't build a box that can't physically fit the sub(s). I've been working with templates based on the Kicker documentation which have been drawn to scale but that'll only take me so far.

I do have some parts that I plan on reusing since they're currently unused carry overs from previous builds. I realize these are by no means top tier items but I've been pleased with their performance from prior builds and well I already have them.

Carry Over items:
Sub Amp = Kenwood KAC-9106D (500 watts 4ohms, 1000 watts 2ohms)
Multichannel Amp = Alpine PDX *IIRC (I might update this later if I'm wrong as I don't have the amp in front of me but the multichannel wasn't in my immediate plans so i didn't take note of the exact model).

Wish List:
Sub(s) = Kicker L7T102 Shallow Mounts (near future purchase, these seem to be perfectly matched to the sub amp I have and the estimated volume I'm working with. With one I'll come in closer to 1 cubic foot while with 2 I'll come in with appx .5 cubic ft both of which look within recommended sealed enclosure volumes. I can wire one for 4ohms getting 500 watts from the monoblock or if i get two i can wire them to 2 ohms to get 1k watts to split between the pair, again seemingly within recommended specs).

OPTION 1
OEM Integration = PAC AmpPRO AP4-GM61 (near future purchase)
DSP = Helix DSP.3 (much later down the road, these seem pricey but Looks like some people have scored some for a touch over $500. Any pointers on where to pick one of these up without bending over?)
Speakers = Undecided (much later down the road)

or

OPTION 2
OEM Integration = JL Fix 86 (near future purchase)
DSP = JL TWK 88 (much later down the road)
Speakers = Undecided (much later down the road)

Will one path be better for building in phases like I'm hoping to do? I gather I require an OEM integration device to even get a sub setup since I'm keeping the stock hu. The monoblock amp does have speaker level inputs but I'm leaning towards getting an OEM integration device up front as they look like they'll resolve the OEM bass rolloff issue off which is present in these trucks. I'm leaning towards the PAC since it looks like it accommodates the center channel which might help me later with my long term goals. I have no clue what all would be entailed DSP wise on handling center channel but since the DSP is in my longer term goals I'm ok with changing my mind on that selection for when I'm better informed but I'd still need to know which OEM Integration method is best suited for both near/long term goals. The truck has 2 dash speakers (tweeters?), 1 dash center speaker, 2 front door speakers, 2 rear speakers. Fix 86 look like it would not be able to incorporate the center channel. Probably a non issue as the front doors and dash tweets would give me the full range signals anyway but if I can retain the center channel and accomplish my long term goals I'd like to entertain that path. I also anticipate long term I'll be keeping the rear speakers vs doing a 3 way setup. Any Ideas on what OEM integration route would best set me up for future goals while allowing me to accomplish my near term goals?

Posted this in the intro section but here's the box so far:

Attachment 13110

You can sort of see the lines drawn on the base of where the sub cutouts will be (I'm apparently sloppy and didn't stage my photo by removing my scraps off my work piece prior to taking pics). Those sections will be raised (into the box) and then the sub will mount from underneath. Tricky parts gonna be to get the slant built out as the box will need to taper down pretty aggressively pretty much from where the corners end on the sides and the back of the base ends. I currently have a temporary 'roof' to the box built but its not pictured and its still being designed. I'm planning on having the roof cap off what you see now and then set inwards a bit before rising up another layer or two (3/4in mdf). the seats have a ridge which lines up great with what I've built so far but past that there's more room to capitalize on underneath the seat. Just started that part last night, nothing interesting to show with it yet.

sub box looks good. but idk the kickers working in .5 ft. i dont know though. maybe they changed they changed them up.

Thank you for the kind words. The volume does seem small (I was shocked when I saw it actually) but the listed min/max from Kicker's documentation show L7T10 shallow subs at .4 cubic ft minimum and 1 cubic ft max for sealed enclosures. I'm really hoping one of these subs will be enough for me. If one works out then that one sub will be able to utilize volume closer to the 1 cubic ft mark instead of sharing that volume with another sub.

Before deciding to aim for these kickers I was eying the JL 10tw3 (shallow) which is listed for 0.519 cubic feet period but those look like they're recommended for no more than 400 watts. I'm sure they'd take the 500 watts my amp has no prob but since I need to buy a sub anyways, the kickers are cheaper and on paper better suited to the amp i already have. Only downside I've come across with these is the slightly larger mounting depth. I think I can pull it off though.