Custom 3D-printed dash pods for the JK

The factory dash speakers in the JK are small tweeters hidden under flat grilles. I wanted a real two-way setup up on the dash, with a mid and a tweeter aimed at the driver, without cutting the dash. So I designed a set of pods from scratch and printed them.

The design

Each pod stacks a 3.59" mid under a 2.1" tweeter in an enclosed tower that's about 6" tall. I started with a 5" × 4" footprint and went through a bunch of shapes before settling on this one. It sits on a 3.15" round base, so it can swivel to aim the speakers.

Fitting the factory dash pocket

Instead of guessing at the mount, I scanned the factory dash tweeter cover and built a plinth from it, including the original clip tabs. The plinth snaps into the stock location like the OEM cover, and the pod sits on top. I narrowed the tower so it can rotate freely inside the roughly 4" dash pocket.

Magnetic faceplate

A faceplate snaps on over the drivers with 10 × 3 mm magnets. I tried grilles, a lightning bolt design and a few other patterns, and ended up leaving the holes open so the speakers stay visible. The back of the plate is recessed around both openings so it clears the speaker frames.

Printing it

Both the pod and faceplate print in two colors on the Kobra S1 Max with the ACE 2 Pro: a gray body with red accent stripes and rings. The underside of the tower flares into the base at about 45° instead of ending in a flat ledge, which cut down the supports a lot. Everything is printed in PETG, which holds up to the heat a dash sees in a Florida summer much better than PLA, and keeping both colors in PETG means the layers bond cleanly.

Next

The images above are 3D renders of the design files from an earlier version of the pod. Photos of the final prints, wiring and install are coming next.