The stock Shaker 500 stereo is the best factory stereo I've ever heard. However, factory just can't cut it sometimes. Although I did custom order this car, I chose not to spend an extra $1,295 on the "Shaker 1000" system... which was 2 - 10" subs in a really ugly plastic enclosure. Yeah, $1,300 for two 10" subs... OMG! WHAT A GREAT DEAL!!!... yeah,. um.. no, waste of money.

The Shaker 500 sounds pretty damn good though w/ the 8" subs in each door. They are mainly mid-range subs, nothing in the lower frequencies. Mid-range subs really don't give the deep bass I am used to.

I began my searching for a pre-made box. I thought that the only hard decision would be which box to buy..... This came to be a VERY tough decision as there was basically 3 different styles of pre-made boxes, and they all sucked major goat ass and were WAY overpriced. Come-on! $300 for a box for ONE sub? WTF?

I then decided to make my own subwoofer box for just one sub, yeah, just one. A 13.5" JLw6v2 subwoofer. I wanted to put in a 15", but JL doesn't make 15" subs anymore.

I started out by removing the right rear trunk lining. For whatever reason there are three things holding it in. Gravity, a panel tab, and a bolt. Why a bolt? Because the factory subwoofer has to mount to something right? Yeah, you could save money and just use another plastic push tab when not ordering the Shaker 1000, but I guess that is just too risky and time consuming for Ford.

Anyways, with the right lining out I took some cardboard and took some measurements. Two days later I have this:

The hole in the end was going to be a port, however that idea turned out to be bad since that 13.5" sub needs a MUCH bigger port area, and bigger box. So it was nixed.

A trip down to Lowes and I got a sheet of 3/4" MDF for $22. This worked out pretty well since I got to use a little over half of it for the box, and the rest was used as a table with the sawhorses.

About a week later of off/on working I have the box cutout and put together - These pics were before the last couple pieces were put in. And yes this was a pain in the ass to build and if I had to do it again I would definitely make less angles.

The carpet I bought from AutoZone as "headliner" carpet for $20 or so, I can't remember exactly how much it was now. A little spray adhesive (also for headliners), a little cutting, and the box was done.

Sub not installed yet:

Sub installed:

To get the amplifier signal I actually used insulated RCA wires and stripped them back and just spliced them into the factory wires for the right rear speaker. This is only because the factory head unit does not have RCA outs. This will be the first thing I fix whenever I get a new head unit.

Also not-pictured is a switch for the remote signal that I put right next to where your right knee is while driving. I simply drilled a hole in the metal support and put in a toggle switch. The switch is almost always in the "off" position because the amp has NO DAMN ADJUSTMENT! Dumbass Kenwood engineers/designers have a "sensitivity" adjustment - which does absolutely nothing. So right now it is set to as low as possible for sensitivity and dB boost and it is still insanely loud. So for those times when you want to have uber mega bass, you just flick a switch next to your knee and a second later - *BOOOOOOOM - BOOOOM*.

**Update**

I have since installed an rca modulator connected to the "pre-out" wires for the front door subs. Now I can finally adjust the bass with my factory head unit. I really need to get a nice 7" touch screen, but that will have to wait until later.

Page 1 - Introduction
Page 2 - Custom Subwoofer Installation/Build - YOU ARE HERE!
Page 3 - Tint and C&L Intake
Page 4 - Shaker Hood Scoop Installation
Page 5 - SLP Loudmouth Mufflers/Billet Grill
Page 6 - Headlight Covers, and Radiator Extensions
Page 7 - Aggressive Chin Spoiler, and louvers
Page 8 - Powered By Ford Emblems
Page 9 - Honeycomb Trunk Panel, Billet GT Medallion, Black Turn Signals
Page 10 - Vanity Plate, HID's, Borla Stingers/FRPP Mufflers, Dyno
Page 11 - Eibach Pro Lowering Springs, Mirror Covers, Splash Guards
Page 12 - BMR Lower Control Arm Brackets and Future Modifications