I had originally ordered an ST1 because I was going to replace the stock radio anyways with better components but I found out that the only face plate available from Metra looked horrible and made the car look cheap. I decided to purchase an ST2 but upgrade all the speakers and subwoofer while using the stock radio. I'm actually happy I got the ST2 b/c I really like Ford's My Touch. The speech recognition is just unbelievable when I tell it an address to route to.

Anyways, as for the stereo, it does sound decent but the major weakness is the sub. Its not clean sounding and ends up distorting the mids and tweeters. There's not a lot of room in our trunk so I decided to use a shallow mount sub to mount in the corner to replace the stock sub. I'm not a fan of putting big sub boxes in the trunk b/c it's not aesthetically pleasing and takes up too much usable space. I fiberglassed a sub box in my last car so decided to do one for my ST.

First, in order to remove the stock sub, you would need to remove the spare tire and then unclip the wire that attaches to the sub. It's attached to the green connector in this picture and you just press the tab to unlock it and pull it out.

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Remove the foam that sits next to the spare tire and you'll see the 3 bolts that hold the sub in place:

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This is what the sub looks like removed from it's enclosure:

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I plan to replace it with an Alpine SWR-T12, it only requires a 0.6 cubic foot sub box and is 3.5 inches deep:

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Things you will need:

Fiberglass resin
Fiberglass mat or cloth (I find the cloth is easier to work with)
disposable plastic cups
disposable gloves
Ventilator
painters tape
petroleum jelly
acetone
cheap brushes


First thing you'll need to do is tape the area you want to fiberglass. It's very important that you double tape everything because the resin will stick to anything and once it's on your carpet/plastic trim or car then it'll be there permanently. I then outlined the area where I want the sub box to be with a marker.

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Apply a generous amount of petroleum jelly to the area, it will serve as a releasing agent to help you remove the fiberglass frame later.

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Now cut up the fiberglass mats into smaller pieces, about 4x4 inches. Make sure you wear gloves and use a ventilator mask when working with fiberglass.

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Mix up a SMALL amount of the resin in a plastic cup. In a red solo cup, I usually pour to the first line at the bottom and add about 20-25 drops of the hardening agent and mix it really well with a plastic spoon. Use the brush to dab a small amount onto the painter's tape and then lay a fiberglass mat on it then dab some more until you soak the mat thoroughly. It'll turn from white to clear once it's soaked thru. Move from one area to the next, using only a small amount of resin at a time because you only have about 15 minutes to work with it before it hardens. Don't mix too much at a time or else you'll just waste it. In between mixing the resin, be sure you place the brush in a glass of acetone to prevent the fiberglass resin from hardening it. Here's what it looks like after 2 layers:

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Add about 4 layers of resin & mat and l let it dry overnight. I used a screwdriver to carefully pry at the corners and loosen all the outside edges.

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Once all the edges are pried apart, yank on the bottom (holding onto foam insert) and you can hear it slowly releasing. This is the most difficult part because it's stuck on pretty good but if you pull on the corners, you'll eventually get it freed.

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Clean the back side of the fiberglass frame with some dish washing soap to clean off the petroleum jelly. After cleaning it, I put it back into the car to mark where I need to trim it.

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Using a dremel, I cut it to the size I want and file away the rough edges. Here's the final back side of my sub box.

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Originally Posted by SGPMan

Dynaudio Esotec components up front
DLS coaxials in the rear
Alpine sub
JL HD 600/4
JL HD 900/5
Bit One processor

Wow that looks pricey! What is your total cost so far?

Where are you going to mount the amplifiers? To the back of the back seats?