I was wondering if removing the piece of sheet metal would help get more bass in the cabin? Are there any safety concerns with removing it?

 

The biggest safety concern would be if the subs were not firmly mounted. If you hit the brakes the sub, amps and anything else unsecured will slam into the back of your head, carry it through the windshield, and into the rear window of the person you rear ended.

Other than that it adds a tiny amount of stiffness to the rear end of the car. I've removed mine. Layered it in glass and carbon fiber, damping material and replaced it. It's held in place by several 10mm hex drive, 6mm diameter screws.

 

so did you get more bass in the cabin area and I assumed you also replaced the seats??

 

Plenty of bass energy can pass through the ski hole and the holes that will be unplugged when you remove the factory rear speakers and put them in the trash.

 

so, i know many people deaden their rear seat backs, and i have always wondered if that hurts or helps the bass that comes from the trunk...

 

Any panel resonance that is eliminated is more a benefit than a loss. You may loose a fraction of SPL, but you gain considerably more by eliminateing noise that is added to the sound. The noise of the panel vibrating. If you have ever listened to a live band with no amplifiers did you notice the snare drum. Did the snare vibrate against the drum when it was not in use? This is the same type of thing. By eliminateing the unwanted vibrations of body panels you raise the signal to noise ratio of the car.

 

No... not really. I removed some sheet metal in my old car (Lexus SC400) and it didn't do much. It wasnt worth the effort at least.

I did remove sheet metal in my Max to mount 2 free air subs in the rear deck though. THAT was a pain... but worth it.