Sub enclosure ideas for an Ion

Yay, another Saturn install. >.< We have a few Saturns ourselves and have a thought. Doing the install you proposed will take away the IONs folding seat capability, but it also brings up possibilities too.

One of the IONs we have has a couple of subs setup the way you want to set up yours, but to keep the use of the folding seats as a functional thing, the back of the passenger side folding seat was given pockets for tools, map storage, spare fuses, etc., while the drivers side was given a bisplay board (floated about 3/4 inch away from the back itself) to display the fuses and distributer blocks bordered by EL lights while the seats are folded down. On the trunk floor right behind the sub boxes are 2 caps that we have fashioned to look like 2 small NOS bottles.

The other ION has its single sub placed into the rear-most driver side corner of the trunk area so the fold down feature can still be used for larger items. To keep the least amount of floor space from being used up, the box is spread along the trunk wall to create a flatter but nice looking wall. The passenger side was given a similar treatment but is used to display the amp, cap, and fuse under a sheet of plexiglass. We were careful not to cover the vent that is in the corner there. Instead we put a sleeve around the vent and brought it to the "wall" of the trunk to keep the vents flow. Since the passenger side is just a faux wall, we also added a small toolbox hidden in it.

You have a good idea and it seems like you know how to reduce phasing in the ION. The only concern we express about this idea is that if you plan on placing your box on the driver's side fold down seat, do not forget to take into account the wiring that is underneath it. Their electricity flow may cause interference to the sub and distort it slightly if your sub's wiring is too close to it. If you have the upgraded 6 speaker system with the factory amp in the deck board, then make your power connection to the sub as far to the side as possible and mid level on the box. If you are placing the sub on the passenger side of the fold downs, then make your sub connection as far to the side as possible and near the bottom. The rear deck speakers and amp (if you have the speaker upgrade) run their wiring through the top of the passenger side of the deck. The sub wiring might distort the deck speakers if too close. You will roughly want to keep the wiring about 18 inches (45 cm) away from signal wires and strong current wiring.

As for the aesthetics of the system, that is all about you. If you let opinions determine the style (not type) of enclosure design, then it isn't really yours now is it?

Ganbatte ne! (Good luck)