Is my system too loud?!?

[benj1213]

I have a '98 explorer sport, recently i bought a sound system from tweeter. I have 4 12" JL audio subs powered by a Extant x1001 (1000 watts). Alpine head unit and cerwin vega mids and highs. I love the system and i get looks everywhere i go but things are starting to break. My rear view mirror cracked the other day and then my taillights popped out. I am worried that my windows are going to break. Any suggestions on what i can do to protect my car!?!?

 

[DarkFox1]

good lord man, have that thing metered.. at a guess I'd say thats in the 150s if its enough to pop taillights off.. the only other person I've heard of doing that was the gates bronco heh

If you are hitting loud enough to break windows, I'm suprised you haven't done it already/gone deaf. If you feel it will be a problem you may be able to replace your windows with lexan, otherwise, the only thing I can think of is ti turn it down.. and if yer like me.. thats not an option

 

[leenjen]

yeah, lexan is the best replacement for the windows. i dont like they way it looks though.

i'm surprised your tail lights popped off before the rear window split. usually the rear window on the explorers is the first to go (sometimes the windshield). and the seals on the back windows in the cargo area blow out vey easily.

the rearview mirror problem happens all the time (that's why may daytona doesn't have one anymore. another thing that will surely fall off are the mirrors on the side.

i highly recommend dynamat. you have too many vibrations going through the body and frame. dynamat will deaden those vibrations. it won't save your windows, but it will prevent the taillights and side view mirrors from shaking loose.

 

[DannyD28]

I know a guy with 4 15 inch subs, not sure what kind, the biggest earthquake amp you can get, he just won first place in a local compitition. 154 decibals! He has a custom wall right behind the drivers seat in his 96' bronco. Someone told me that that is getting close to the sound of a jet airliner and that they are like 165db, is that true? holy crap man no one needs quite that much bass..

 

[DarkFox1]

up in the 160s is actually the space shuttle liftoff.. the only person I know of thats ever hit that high is team gates.. but I'm not sure, I haven't paid attention to that latley

 

[makaveli911]

only 1000 watts and your having that much destruction??

 

[leenjen]

Originally posted by DarkFox1
up in the 160s is actually the space shuttle liftoff.. the only person I know of thats ever hit that high is team gates.. but I'm not sure, I haven't paid attention to that latley

the world db record surpassed 170db a few years ago. the record is broken every few month's. i'm not sure what it is up to now, but i'm pretty sure it is past 175db.

i have seen plenty of cars pass 160db. there is a yellow volkswagen rabbit that hit 167.2db with 10- 10" earthquake magma subs.

i still have the 4- 15" Orions installed in my explorer. i never checked the SPL, but it made me pass out once. my wife had to rush to turn it off, the hospital said i could've caused serious brain damage. i only caused swelling (which gave me severe headaches for 2 months straight, and i still get them a lot).

now i'm more into the SQ.

 

[yob_yeknom]

You're supposed to turn the volume control the OTHER way.

Originally posted by leenjen
...i never checked the SPL, but it made me pass out once. my wife had to rush to turn it off, the hospital said i could've caused serious brain damage. i only caused swelling (which gave me severe headaches for 2 months straight, and i still get them a lot)...

That's pretty scary. Good thing she was there at the time.

BTW, did you get my email about head units?

 

[DarkFox1]

ok if yer passing out.. its too loud.. heh, yer gonna be deaf by 40 at that rate man

 

[Jason94sport]

DAMM!!!! Passed out!!! I never heard that one before

I'm no where near those limits. I have 2 12's in my car, & if my rear view mirror starts to shake, I turn it down. I measured about 140db from the drivers seat. I was out side the car though during that. The little JL 10 in my X can't even shake the mirror.

 

[leenjen]

Re: You're supposed to turn the volume control the OTHER way.

Originally posted by yob_yeknom

BTW, did you get my email about head units?

sorry, i haven't been home for a few days. i've been a little busy lately. i'll be home tomorrow afternoon, and i'll get back to you ASAP. there's no virus in this emaill, is there?? j/k

 

[yob_yeknom]

Originally posted by leenjen
there's no virus in this emaill, is there?? j/k

LOL I actually did mention in the subject line that there was no virus in it. As not to cause any worries.

 

[DocVijay]

Decibel damage.

Yeah, you guys have to watch out for damage from the high pressure levels.And I mean to yourselves not hte car. Starting at 130dB permanent hearing loss is assured (over time, not instantly). At about 150 dB it can rupture smaller blood vessels (nose bleeds, red spots in your eyes), and can easliy rupture your ear drums. Also at about this level it can (as you already found out) cause you to pass out. The extreme pressure levels makes it impossible to breathe. Your body depends on a small pressure gradient between inside and outside your body to be able to breathe. If the pressure gradient is too high, it forces air in or out of your lungs. With most music, it happens so fast that you just can't get enough oxygen. At about 160dB permanent damage can happen at many places i your body. And finally, at about 180 dB, the pressure starts to rupture organs. That's when you're screwed.

The Army is actually trying out "non-lethal" weapons based on sound waves. It projscts sound in a cone at about 150-170 dB and knocks people unconscious. Good for crowd control, etc..

Hope this was informative, sorry if it was too long winded.

And guys, please be careful. A little loud music today can ruin your hearing forever. You don't want to be using a hearing aid at 40. At 60... well let's just say you won't be enjoying much music anymore. (sorry, had to preach)

 

[leenjen]

that's pretty much what happened....
i couldn't breate, everything was getting dim. it felt like the explorer was rolling over with me inside. the last thing i remember is putting my hands on the ceiling (because i really thought it was rolling). that was one of the scariest experiences i ever had. i thought i was going to die in there. my eyes were bloodshot for a couple days. and the constant headaches from my brain swelling was the worst part.

 

[rustytr]

Man that's crazy! I'm sorry for getting a bit of a chuckle out of it, but it's kinda laughable too, maybe? Just from here I guess.