Polaris Slingshot Audio and Lighting Upgrades

The owner of this Polaris Slingshot came to Pinnacle Autosound to see about adding some audio in the rear of his autocycle. He was also interested in adding a bit of lighting to it. We reviewed a few options with him, devised a plan, and booked his appointment.

Underbody Lighting

We wired the speaker lighting with the underbody lighting so the colors would match.

The lighting kit gave great coverage under the Slingshot.

We had enough lighting strips to light underneath as well as the front of the Slingshot.

We first tackled the lighting for this Slingshot. We chose an LED Glow 20-piece lighting kit to ensure plenty of coverage for the front and underside of the Slingshot. The kit contains longer and short strips of all-weather RGB lighting strips. The strips were divided, and we mapped out where each would go, ensuring all areas were covered. To install the strips, we thoroughly cleaned the parts of the Slingshot where they would be attached, and then attached them. The wiring for the lighting was neatly routed and hidden.

Polaris Slingshot Audio Equipment

With the lighting completed, we moved on to the Polaris Slingshot audio installation. We would be adding a pair of rear speakers and a Rockford Fosgate amplifier to power them. The amplifier was mounted on the driver’s side storage compartment. When selecting speakers for the Polaris, we considered the lighting we were adding and chose the Rockford Fosgate marine speakers. These speakers feature built-in lighting, and they sound great.

Slingshot Rear Speaker Installation

A tree or two was harmed in the making of these pods! 🙁

The final cardboard template was test fit on the front of the hoop.

The final cardboard template was test fit on the rear of the hoop.

The front plate was attached with hardware that will be hidden by the speaker.

We personalize the plates by adding our logo to the top of them.

It took precise measuring to get a perfect fit.

The speakers sit on a 1/4″ spacer.

We designed the mounting solution to leave plenty of room for the seats.

The new plates look like they could be a factory option.

The new Rockford speakers look as good as they sound.

Our Polaris Slingshot audio upgrade used the factory radio as the source unit.

The only real place for speakers to be installed towards the rear of the Slingshot is in the rollbar/headrest area. After taking careful measurements, we found that we could install the Rockford Fosgate marine speakers in the available space. We needed something to mount the speakers to and a way to create a bit of an enclosure for them. The answer was two acrylic plates, one for the front, which also would include a speaker ring spacer and one for the rear that would seal off the cavity.
There are quite a few Polaris Slingshots on the road, so we wanted to make our solution something we could duplicate for the next Slingshot that came in. So we spent time getting measurements and making templates with our laser until we had the front and rear plates perfectly designed. It took quite a few pieces of scrap cardboard to verify the changes on the way to perfection. Once the profile for the front and rear were made, we then added the speaker spacer rings to the design and cut the pieces on our laser from 1/4″ acrylic. Making them out of plastic would ensure that they would last the lifetime of the Slingshot. We added a subtle logo engraving on the rear of the panels, so everyone would know who made the plates.
The final part of the installation was to secure the plates to the hoops and wire up the speakers. The front plates attach with screws hidden by the speakers when installed. The rear plates were secured with two visible stainless steel screws.

Tuning, Cleanup and Delivery

We finally had the Polaris Slingshot audio and lighting upgrades installed. We turned on the factory radio in the Slingshot and adjusted the new amplifier for maximum clean output. Then we cleaned up the Slingshot and called the client to pick it up. He loved how it looked and sounded and appreciated the extra time we took to perfect the rear speaker mounting. If you have a Slingshot or other side-by-side and need audio or lighting upgrades, stop by with it or contact us here.