New box time

[XplorerKid]

Time has come to build a new box, The current one is to plain, it was made to fit my Jeep CJ, and it was fine for that, but the Explorer needs something nicer, and sleeker. Ima make one that probaly flows with the wheel wells, was gunna do fiberglass, but think ima wait a little longer on that. Wanting yalls opions though. The current box is 6 cu ft, tuned to 35hz, the sub pounds(atleast i tihnk it does) most people dont believe i only have one 15. Since this was built for my CJ, its Sub up, port up(well was in the jeep, its sub back port back right now), from reading it seems like sub up port back is louder, is this true? Will it be louder with a slot port like what i go not, or tube ports? never dealt with tube ports, but im sure i could figure it out. I dont know if i can really get it much louder than what it is. Im currently running Solo L5, plan to upgrade to L7 when the 5 blows. Cargo room aint a problem to me, if i take up the whole back end thats fine....

Now what i want yalls opion on. Should i just stick to 6 cu ft or try soemthing different? stick at 35hz tuning? Im going mainly for SPL, but this is a DD system, not something i play test tones and compete with, i just like to be as loud as i can. Dont recomend buying new sub or anything Im very happy with my system for what i have invested, right around 350$ for sub,amp and box.

Heres the current setup, Im also gunna try and incorporate an Amp rack into the new box somehow. Anyone that wants to draw something up, feel more than welcome too..

 

[Wagonized]

a crx style box (sub up port back) will get you the loudest, both on the meter and to your ear.

ive personally had better results with a slot port.

i put it at the bottom of the box running horizontally.

35hz sounds pretty good for street driving.


heres a pic of my latest box that i had the best results with.

not pretty but it works

 

[jimbo74]

duct tape! lol

 

[leenjen]

wow. in 10 years of car audio, i never saw a box sealed with duct tape.
i'm not putting your box down, just kinda thinking out loud.....
hey if it works for you, that's all that matters

 

[leenjen]

one more thing. what's with the huge bolts?
are the bolts and the duct tape holding it together?
because brad nails and wood glue might work a little better.
just saying.....

 

[Afboy143]

oh wow

 

[TeamPwnageBrad]

wow. in 10 years of car audio, i never saw a box sealed with duct tape.
i'm not putting your box down, just kinda thinking out loud.....
hey if it works for you, that's all that matters

I guess you havent ever gotten into stereo competition then. People are gaining anywhere from .1 to .5 dbs simply by putting duct tape in certain spots on the box The allthread is bracing. Its another commonly used material because it takes up virtually no airspace, and is small enough to wher it doesnt really cause much turbulence. Basically he is minimizing flex to squeeze every db out he can. It also lowers impendence rise of the box.

 

[XplorerKid]

Back on topic

so stick with my 6 cu 35hz tuning? just build it as a CRX style box instead....

Ive read some on Snail Shells, heard there hell to build, but still dont understand the whole concept behind them. anyone care to explain?

Thanks for the help so far, wagonized, whats the specs on your system?

 

[TeamPwnageBrad]

Snail shell enclosures are a combination of a rear loaded horn and a transmission line enclosure if i remember correctly. They basically have to be specifically designed for your sub. I wouldnt really bother with one. The explorer itself has a cabin gain boost around 51hz. If you tune to something like 38 you will gain a bit more SPL. IMO 35 is much better suited for daily driving though.

SPL isnt entirely about power and huge subs. The enclosure has a HUGE role in it. Wagonized's enclosure is no doubt loud, but the way the port is built is going to decrease SPL as opposed to if it were to go entirely along the bottom. The air needs to have a very directed and straight path into the port. In his box the pressure builds up in the large part, then on the sides of the port, and it will then exit the port. It causes some tubrulence and will reduce SPL. Box shape is VERY important when you are trying to build the loudest daily driver possible.

 

[Wagonized]

I guess you havent ever gotten into stereo competition then. People are gaining anywhere from .1 to .5 dbs simply by putting duct tape in certain spots on the box The allthread is bracing. Its another commonly used material because it takes up virtually no airspace, and is small enough to wher it doesnt really cause much turbulence. Basically he is minimizing flex to squeeze every db out he can. It also lowers impendence rise of the box.

the threaded rods make things so much easier as far as bracing goes.

SPL isnt pretty thats just how it goes.

i built three boxes in three weekends with the explorer....the one shown above took the least amount of time and that was 22 hours start to finish. I care more about whether or not it works well, than if it looks good.

 

[Wagonized]

Snail shell enclosures are a combination of a rear loaded horn and a transmission line enclosure if i remember correctly. They basically have to be specifically designed for your sub. I wouldnt really bother with one. The explorer itself has a cabin gain boost around 51hz. If you tune to something like 38 you will gain a bit more SPL. IMO 35 is much better suited for daily driving though.

SPL isnt entirely about power and huge subs. The enclosure has a HUGE role in it. Wagonized's enclosure is no doubt loud, but the way the port is built is going to decrease SPL as opposed to if it were to go entirely along the bottom. The air needs to have a very directed and straight path into the port. In his box the pressure builds up in the large part, then on the sides of the port, and it will then exit the port. It causes some tubrulence and will reduce SPL. Box shape is VERY important when you are trying to build the loudest daily driver possible.

very good point...i thought about that when building it. but if i were to have the port go all the way across and still maintain the same amount of port area id have a big problem with port noise id think. as it is still somewhat of a street beater....44 hz tuning isnt too too bad. i can still listen to it although i really miss my lows

 

[Wagonized]

Back on topic


Thanks for the help so far, wagonized, whats the specs on your system?

currently im running a pioneer avh-6600 dvd up front

cadence aluminum 5 1/4 components in the doors with titanium tweeters flush mounted in the a-pillar. Planning on glassing some door pods for the components this winter. The components are running off a limited edition PPI 50X4 amp.
The sub is an 18HC by Resonant Engineering. Powered by a viper 2500d running at 4 ohm for daily driving (1500 watts) and dropped to 1 ohm for comps (3000-3500ish id think). 1 run of 1/0 and 1 run of 2/0 (was on sale) from battery to rear. 880CCA batt under the hood and optima deep cycle in the rear 750 CCA i think.

Stock alt Upgraded big three wiring.

enclosure is 4.55 cf tuned to 44ish hz....the truck peaks at 51-52 hz.


next season ill be adding my 2nd 18HC, a 2nd Viper 2500d, and the biggest alt i can find.

hoping for a 153 next season but i always set my sights a little high

 

[TeamPwnageBrad]

You could keep the same port height and make the port go entirely across the bottom. However youd need to increase the length of your port and the box would become even larger lol. Aeroports are working very well for us right now. You may want to give them a try. If you ever need a couple tricks on getting that explorer loud just PM me.

a 153 is a VERY big number, but i wish ya the best of luck

I think you may actually be surprised how much less wattage you are probably actually getting. Impendence rise really sucks. If you intend on competing, i suggest you purchase a termlab sensor. Its probably the most valuable tool you can have if you want to seriously compete. a clamp ammeter and a DMM are also a great combination of tools to have. Youll be able to calculate actual wattage and impendence rise and amp efficiency. be prepared to invest in 20+ sheets of MDF as well lol.

 

[Wagonized]

You could keep the same port height and make the port go entirely across the bottom. However youd need to increase the length of your port and the box would become even larger lol. Aeroports are working very well for us right now. You may want to give them a try. If you ever need a couple tricks on getting that explorer loud just PM me.

a 153 is a VERY big number, but i wish ya the best of luck

I think you may actually be surprised how much less wattage you are probably actually getting. Impendence rise really sucks. If you intend on competing, i suggest you purchase a termlab sensor. Its probably the most valuable tool you can have if you want to seriously compete. a clamp ammeter and a DMM are also a great combination of tools to have. Youll be able to calculate actual wattage and impendence rise and amp efficiency. be prepared to invest in 20+ sheets of MDF as well lol.

yea i totally agree...ive been trying to persuade a couple other competitiors to share the expense of a termlab so we can share it but havent acted on anything so far.

i tried (4) 4 inch homemade aeroports with this same box (interchangeable ports) and found that it was 1.1 db quieter. However i have some 8 inch pvc that i might try next to try and get more port area out of the equation.

Unfortunately i couldnt make the port much longer because my box is only 15 inches high and the depth of the sub cuts things quite close in there.

I havent done any tests with impedence rise yet but ill definitely look into it later this year. The wattage my amp is putting out doesnt matter all too much to me right now I care more about the numbers the setup is putting out. There are just soo many variables that i have to get figured out what the setup/vehicle respond best to, the power really isnt a big issue for me because i know ill be getting a fair amount. Whether its geting 2600 or 3600 doesnt matter all that much right now.

like i said 153 might be very wishful thinking lol but id definitely like to get a 151 out of it consistently and do well in bass race aswell.

ill send a pm in a couple minutes with a few questions i have...thanks for all the advice

 

[member02]

May I suggest a box thats slightly larger, for competing with that sub you might wanna go for about 15 cubes, adding length not height, keeping the sub nearer the port. and the port looks like 120sq inches? the box I think, 11.5cubes? the port with the 18" is best around 180sq inches, basically all the way across.

and sand smooth the port edges dramatically inside and outside all that could give you slight gains. enough to win.

 

[XplorerKid]

May I suggest a box thats slightly larger, for competing with that sub you might wanna go for about 15 cubes, adding length not height, keeping the sub nearer the port. and the port looks like 120sq inches? the box I think, 11.5cubes? the port with the 18" is best around 180sq inches, basically all the way across.

and sand smooth the port edges dramatically inside and outside all that could give you slight gains. enough to win.

talking to me or one of the other guys in this thread? i dont want a 15 cube box, that one is 6 and is plenty big, plus i dont compete, i just want a daily system that can give me the most out of what i have....