Acoustic shelf for VAZ 2114 - how to make it yourself

Car audio is an art and you can’t argue with that. To achieve clear and powerful sound inside the car, owners resort to various tricks.

The acoustic trunk of the VAZ 2114 is one of the ways that will help you get real and strong sound inside the car. You can build an acoustic trunk for a VAZ 2114 yourself, fortunately there is nothing complicated about it. Music, thirty years ago, at least in our country, was a rarity in a car. More precisely, it was there, but the sound evoked, to put it mildly, strange sensations.

Today, car audio is a whole culture, a special sphere where beauty, art and high technology are combined in the most amazing way.

Acoustic trunk in VAZ 2114

On the other hand, all this can become lyrical for a certain number of drivers who are not going to spend crazy money to get real acoustic comfort. Yes, music, let it sound, but not necessarily at the highest level; average quality is enough for us.

Acoustic shelves and podiums in the trunk

Especially in order to provide the car interior with average-level acoustics, very inexpensive, often homemade, acoustic shelves and podiums were invented. The shelves, in particular, very successfully replace the standard ones, and due to this alone the sound quality characteristics are significantly improved. And even the simplest-looking acoustic shelf can give an average sound to a music lover.

What can acoustic shelves and podiums provide?

So:

• The overall level of sound quality inside the car will improve.
• Extraneous sounds will disappear when playing music, especially clearly audible at high volume levels.
• It will become possible to install dynamic heads of various sizes that simply do not fit into the standard places prepared by the automaker.

Note. The presence of acoustic shelves and podiums will allow you to install large and heavy speakers in your car, the sound power of which is not comparable to small speakers.

• Installing acoustic components will make it possible to correctly mount speakers for a car radio and build entire acoustic scenes.
• The aesthetic component of the car is significantly improved.

An acoustic trunk shelf is not just an effective way to transform a car into a modern vehicle with all the amenities, but also a clear improvement in comfort, noticeable when traveling long distances. Listening to music on the road is pleasant, and listening to good music is doubly pleasant.

Note : The trunk of a VAZ 2114 car can not only be used to install an acoustic shelf, but itself act as an entire acoustic center. The speakers can be embedded into the trunk floor, in the corners and even on top, creating a real ensemble.

Like any acoustic system, the trunk of a car after modernization must meet the following requirements.

Speakers embedded in the sides of the trunk

• Have sufficient rigidity of the panels, thereby eliminating resonance phenomena that negatively affect the purity and strength of sound. Large speakers have considerable weight and, when playing at full power, must have reliable support underneath them.

Note. The design must be made in such a way that it minimizes almost all resonance phenomena, including rattling and so on. This is achieved by using a panel of sufficient thickness, the presence of stiffeners and the absence of flat areas with a large area.

• A tightness must be created, which will eliminate the occurrence of an acoustic short circuit, reduction in sound quality, etc.

Taking into account these above factors, a competent acoustic environment is created in the trunk of the VAZ 2114. Basically, typical acoustic trunk shelves should be made of wood or chipboard, but samples made of carbon fiber and carbon fiber are also known, which are no less effective. In addition to rigidity, sufficient thickness and good fastening, the acoustic shelf and podiums must be combined with the appearance of the interior. Because of this, they are covered with the same skin as the interior itself. Carpet most often plays the role of cladding. The shelves themselves in the trunk can have different types of designs, but today only two options are common:

• Single shelves in the trunk, which are more often used in sedans and are popular in VAZ cars. It is a simple panel with special holes for speakers.

• A prefabricated acoustic shelf, which already consists of three parts, and most often, this design is applicable in hatchbacks and station wagons, but is also suitable for the VAZ 2114. The main part of such a shelf is the central part, which folds down or is removed when loading luggage. As an addition, there are two fixed shelves on the side, into which the speakers are built.

Store shelves already have special holes for speakers, but an ardent music lover who expects strong sound and pure acoustic effect will not be satisfied with this option. Often shelves are made by hand, using multi-level acoustic podiums.

Correct installation of ovals

How to properly install such speakers? We must remember that they should be installed only in sedans, since in such a car the trunk is separated from the trunk. In hatchbacks, station wagons and other single-volume bodies, it is very difficult to achieve good sound from “ovals”, and it simply does not make sense to do this.

The installation site must be as rigid and durable as possible, without rattling or vibrating. If there were no holes in the shelf, you need to cut them to fit the mounting size of the speakers, if possible, between the metal stiffeners.

The metal of the shelf must be properly glued with vibration and noise insulation. To do this, you can use vibration-damping materials with a thickness of 3 or even 4 mm as the first layer and noise-insulating material as the second layer. Sound insulation must be selected according to thickness so that plastic cladding can be installed on top, if any.

The interior must be completely separated from the trunk, without cracks or gaps. You can also use plywood, which is cut to the size of the shelf and firmly installed on it. The plywood itself, for a more aesthetic appearance, can be covered with carpet, leatherette or painted.

The speakers should be installed by screwing them through plywood to metal. It is better to use bolts and nuts rather than self-tapping screws. If you don’t want to mess with plywood, you can use spacer rings made of the same plywood or MDF. The speakers must be fixed firmly, rigidly and without distortion.

After installation, you need to configure the sound correctly. When oval speakers are the only ones in the system, you can only slightly change the equalizer settings. If you also have front speakers, then it is advisable to shift the balance a little forward, thereby dragging the “scene” there.

It’s even better to make a “cut” on the radio, if it allows it, by forcing the oval speakers to play only low frequencies. In this case, this will allow you to achieve the effect of a subwoofer. If the head unit does not have an LPF, you can simply remove the midrange component and tweeter from the pancake, achieving the same result.

DIY acoustic trunk

Trunk with acoustic effect

As mentioned above, making an acoustic trunk yourself is not so difficult. It is enough to know the basic information and technology, and then act based on the scenarios of your own imagination. The process begins, of course, with preparing the trunk floor:

• A thick piece of cardboard is taken, from which a pattern is made for the future floor.
• The sketch is transferred to plywood, preferably not too thin, and outlined.
• Then the shape is cut out.

Preparing the floor for the acoustic trunk

• We take the foam rubber and shoot it at the ends of the plywood. This is done so that the plywood does not creak and sits softer.
• We cover the workpiece with carpet and install it in place.

Now the most difficult thing is to make the boxes so that they do not make noise on bumps, and everything looks perfectly beautiful. Of course, all this is done not only from an aesthetic point of view, but also in order to significantly increase acoustic comfort.

• Again, we cut out blanks for the boxes from plywood.

Subwoofer boxes

• The pieces of the workpiece are held together with glue and self-tapping screws.
• The right and left homemade boxes are installed in the trunk and, like the floor itself, are covered with carpet.
• We install high-quality speakers and radio.
• Enjoy great sound.

Acoustic shelf in the trunk

Option for an acoustic shelf in the trunk

As mentioned above, a shelf is also installed in the trunk. It may be a folding version, and on the sides there will be fixed shelves with speakers.

Basic moments

So:

• Installation of the shelf is carried out using self-tapping screws and corners.
• The process of installing the shelf is simple, especially on the VAZ 2112.
• The side panels can be left in the form of boxes, or you can remove the trim and make new ones (for example, like this).

Acoustic side shelf

• When installing fixed side shelves, you should ensure their rigidity and reliable fixation to the maximum extent possible.
• There are two ways to install speakers in side shelves: open installation, where the speakers are installed after installing the shelf, and hidden installation, where the speakers are installed in place beforehand.

Note : Regardless of how the speakers are installed, the wires are routed out in advance.

• When installing an acoustic shelf in the trunk, the damping effect should be taken into account. In this case, the trunk and shelves will need to be provided with a good sound-absorbing effect. If initially the walls and floor of the trunk of the VAZ 2114 were lined with thin and low-quality material, then everything can be changed. An expensive fleecy carpet laid on foam rubber or other vibration- and sound-absorbing material will solve this problem.

Noise and vibration insulation for acoustics

On this passage, full of optimism, we end our article. More detailed instructions for making acoustic shelves with your own hands can be downloaded from the Internet.

Step-by-step instructions for independent production of VAZ 2109

First, you should find the points where the decorative handles of the future design will be fixed, then drill holes in selected places that are necessary for mounting the clamps and installing the handles.

Cutting out the moving part

Then, of course, move on to making a shelf template. It is important to take into account that the structure will have a moving part, which should be marked on the cardboard template using cuts. With all this, it is strongly recommended to make sure that the movable part of the structure for which the lifting structure is intended does not come into contact with the arches of the car trunk.

Do-it-yourself acoustic shelf for VAZ 2114

Acoustic shelf for VAZ 2114

An acoustic shelf for a VAZ 2114, made of plywood and covered with carpet, will improve not only the interior of the car. On the VAZ 2114, the acoustic shelf is a component that solves several problems at once: sound output improves, squeaks in the trunk disappear, speakers can be installed in any size, even the largest ones.

Additional Information

The lid rises with the trunk

If desired, the shelf cover can be connected to the trunk door using a spring or rubber band. In this case, the lifting part of the shelf will rise along with the trunk door.

In conclusion, it is necessary to pay attention to the financial component of the issue. Self-manufacturing of a trunk shelf for a VAZ 2109 will cost the vehicle owner much less than the cost of services from service station specialists.

An acoustic shelf is essential

VAZ 2114 acoustic shelf

You can buy a shelf in a store (the choice today is very rich) or make it yourself from available materials. Let's focus on the second option, which appeals to the majority of Russians who are not accustomed to spending extra money (why, if all you need to do is put in a little effort).

According to most drivers who have little or good knowledge of car audio, installing 4 speakers according to the scheme: 2 at the front and 2 at the rear will be the ideal solution. There will be no problems with the front acoustics in terms of reproduction, since in front of the VAZ 2114 there are standard places for installing 13-inch speakers.

Note : Note that such speakers play well, there is enough power, but still, if this is not enough, then podiums are placed in the doors, where larger speakers are installed - 16 inches.

Acoustic shelf for VAZ 2114

Let's leave the front speakers alone and move on to the rear. There are more problems here. The standard places for speakers in the rear, not only on the VAZ 2114, but on all other cars, are no good, as they are too small.

You can’t install large speakers here, and small ones can’t cope with reproducing more or less noticeable bass. In addition, the standard shelf on the VAZ 2114 is too “flimsy” and is also unable to support the 6x9 oval speakers intended for it.

The factors listed above simply force a motorist who is partial to good and high-quality music to act.

Installation

We have already talked about how to choose speakers for your car. Now a few words about the correct installation of these speakers in a car. Motorists recommend installing mid- and high-frequency speakers in the front of the car. If they are installed on the rear shelf, the sound quality will be slightly distorted.

When installing low-frequency 6-inch speakers, it is recommended to immediately buy a ready-made non-standard acoustic shelf, since in all cars the holes are designed for 4, not 6 inches.

Well, for louder sound, you can mount a subwoofer in the trunk of your car. But remember that this part takes up a lot of free space and, with its vibrations, unscrews all the nuts and bolts that are nearby.

Manufacturing

Acoustic shelves for VAZ 2114

In principle, there is nothing difficult to make. You will need to arm yourself with a little patience (and Moscow was not built right away), follow the instructions clearly, and have the necessary tools and materials at hand.

What do you need

Acoustic shelves for VAZ 2114

To successfully carry out the operation, you must prepare the following:

• Plywood – a sheet 18 mm thick is suitable;
• A piece of material for reupholstery - carpet is ideal, but if the interior is upholstered in leather or leatherette, then for a harmonious perception we replace the carpet with a piece of the corresponding material.

Note : Carpet is good because it is very convenient to work with. This material has amazing obedience if you know how to handle it.

• Glue for carpet - the best option is aerosol or Nairit;
• Stain;
• Special staples for an 8 mm stapler (for wood) and the furniture stapler itself;
• Painting tape;
• Several self-tapping screws.

As for tools, you should have a good jigsaw, a plane and a drill or, better yet, a screwdriver on hand.

Installing an acoustic shelf on a VAZ 2114

What to do?

There are three ways to solve this problem. The choice in favor of one option or another directly depends on your requirements, wishes and sometimes financial capabilities.

Having a stronger and thicker shelf not only eliminates noise, but also improves the sound quality of the audio system. The thick shelf acts as a highly efficient enclosure.

Today we will look at how you can create an acoustic podium with your own hands, which will be placed on factory sidewalls. You can also try to make an option with your own sidewalls, but it is much more complicated and extremely difficult for a beginner to cope with. Let's not make things difficult for you. The option with standard sidewalls is very good.