what about cutting a hole in the plastic but not the fabric, I think that is what I will try, because I definatly have rattle with the cover on.

has anyone confirmed whether or not the 10W3 would fit in the box? (im assuming JL didn't use it for a reason, but you never know...)

I'm not going to speak for JL or why they made the choice they did. But given our experiences with creating our own X5 subwoofer enclosure, squeezing 5.93" of mounting depth into this enclosure would be one hell of a job. Doubtful unless a mounting ring to extend the woofer out of the enclosure was used -- and then you'd give up the whole stealth effect.

I spoke with Micah after seeing this JL thread. I am going to go with the BSW unit rather then the JL. The JL units in other BMW's tend to be "boomy" and I am under the understanding that the X5 may be the same way, FYI.

As a long time audiophile and x-car audio competitor, I want clarity and precision, not just boom.

Thanks
Brad

I am interested to see/hear if this approach works with just cutting away the backing or at least drilling some 1" holes in it or something but leaving the factory cloth covering.

Man this Stealthbox sounds good. Tight and fast with great low extension. Makes me want to throw away the rest of the OEM system and start over. Wish I had space for another one in the other side compartment.

I thought about that too. But if you look at the carpet itself, if you do manage to keep the carpet in tack after taking the plastic behind it off, it will not stay together as there is no support for it (no weaving). Great idea and if you or someone can figure a way to do this, please post up!!! I'd consider buying a new panel to do that.

It is def because of depth issues; also the basket on the W3 angles towards the bigger magnet and results in being a little too 'fat' to fit in the stealth box in one spot only. However this stealth box has to form this way in order to fit our X5. I would have switched to the W3 if it fit although it is very close.

The sound is SO much better with the cover off. I thought it was a sloppy, boomy sub when I first installed it. There was also a rattle. I decided to take the cover off and what a difference. It's a nice sounding sub now. It's not going to get real loud, but at least is sound clean and relativily tight now. I'm sure a bigger box with more power would sound more accurate, but this is what I was looking for; just a little low end extension.

I think I'm going to install it, and if I don't like it, I'll resell it. I do like big bass, but I rather have sound quality.